1 What this means
A whānau trust brings together Māori land interests so they are held for the whānau and its descendants, rather than being divided further at each succession. It can be set up on its own or alongside succession.
An Ahu Whenua Trust is set up over a land block (or several) so that trustees can administer the land on behalf of all the owners — useful when a block has many owners and needs active management.
2 What still needs checking
- Are you pooling your whānau’s interests, or organising management of a whole block?
- Who would be trustees, and have they agreed?
- What the owners or whānau want the trust to achieve
3 What you can do next
Decide which job you need done, then talk with the Court or a Māori land adviser. Neither type is automatically right.
Forms & templates for this
- Form 36 — Constitute a whānau trustSets up (constitutes) a whānau trust to hold whānau interests for their descendants. Open Form 36 — Constitute a whānau trust Download Form 36 — Constitute a whānau trust
- Form 37 — Constitute an Ahu Whenua TrustSets up (constitutes) an Ahu Whenua Trust so trustees can manage a block for all its owners. Open Form 37 — Constitute an Ahu Whenua Trust Download Form 37 — Constitute an Ahu Whenua Trust
- Form 23 — Whānau trust alongside successionSets up a whānau trust over the interests being succeeded to, instead of dividing them among successors. Open Form 23 — Whānau trust alongside succession Download Form 23 — Whānau trust alongside succession
- Document B1 — Trustee consentA proposed trustee’s written consent to being appointed. Usually filed with trust applications such as Forms 36, 37 or 38. Open Document B1 — Trustee consent Download Document B1 — Trustee consent
- Template 1 — Trustee ResponsibilitiesAn outline of trustee duties and responsibilities, for trustees and whānau to work from. Download Template 1 — Trustee Responsibilities
- Template 2 — Trustee Fiduciary Decision ChecklistA checklist trustees can use to test a decision against their duties before making it. Download Template 2 — Trustee Fiduciary Decision Checklist
- Template 3 — Trustee Resolution RecordRecords a trustee decision (resolution) — what was decided, who voted and when. Download Template 3 — Trustee Resolution Record
Check the latest version on the Māori Land Court website before filing. Templates are starting points, not official Court forms.
Official sources
Last reviewed 13 November 2026. General guidance only — not legal, financial or building advice. Court, lending and building decisions remain with the relevant decision makers.
