1. About this site
Ara Whenua is a free, independent educational site run by ReFind Maker. It provides general information about whenua Māori, Māori Land Court processes and papakāinga planning, along with forms, templates, calculators and checklists. It is independent of the Māori Land Court, councils, Kāinga Ora, Kiwibank and other lenders, and does not speak for them.
2. General guidance, not advice
Information on this site, including Piwa’s answers, is general and may be incomplete or out of date. It is not legal, financial, valuation or building advice. Check current official requirements and get appropriate professional help before filing an application, relying on a deadline, borrowing money, choosing a site or starting work.
3. Forms and templates
Māori Land Court forms here are copies supplied for convenience and may not be the latest version — always check the Court’s website before filing. Word templates are starting points, not completed applications or official Court forms, and do not guarantee that a Court, council or lender will accept them. You may use them for your own or authorised whānau projects. Please don’t resell the collection or imply official endorsement.
4. Calculators and checklists
Calculators show scenarios using your own assumptions. They are not an affordability assessment, a loan offer or a recommendation of any financial product. A Build readiness tick is your own record of progress — it is not permission, funding approval, consent or independent verification.
5. Using the site fairly
Please don’t use the site to break the law, interfere with its security, or share other people’s private information without authority. We may limit access where reasonably necessary to protect the site or its users.
6. Your consumer rights
We aim to provide the site with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Privacy Act 2020 or any other law that cannot be excluded. We do not guarantee any particular land, Court, finance or building outcome.
7. Changes and contact
We may update these terms and will change the effective date when we do. Questions or complaints: admin@refindmaker.com. New Zealand law applies.
