Location Agreements

Here is how this works in practice. Location agreements for global shoots in New Zealand are not single documents — they are a layered stack and our location-legal team builds each layer to the operational reality of the site. Public-land agreements with the Department of Conservation cover Fiordland, Tongariro, Aoraki/Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring, Westland Tai Poutini, Abel Tasman, Nelson Lakes, Whanganui, and Te Urewera National Parks under Part 102 commercial filming permits with site-level bonds, ranger-attendance schedules, gear-footprint limits, and revegetation needs. Heritage The country Pouhere Taonga licences cover built-heritage sites. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency handles state-highway closures. Maritime NZ permits coastal and marine filming. And local council licences cover urban Tāmaki Makaurau, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Ōtautahi, and Ōtepoti shoots through Screen Auckland, Screen Wellington, ChristchurchNZ Film, and the relevant city film offices.

Here is the short of it. Iwi and hapū agreements are required under Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership duties and our location agreements set up them as parallel documents to public-land permits. Mana whenua approval for filming on classic whenua, marae, urupā, wāhi tapu, and waters of cultural weight is negotiated through iwi rūnanga and Te Puni Kōkiri-aligned cultural advisors, and the agreements cover cultural-protocol consultancy fees, karakia and powhiri plan, tapu boundaries, and post-prod approvals over visuals of taonga. Private-landholder agreements cover Hobbiton at Matamata (Alexander Farm).

Here is how this works in practice. Mount Sunday Canterbury (LOTR Edoras), Glenorchy farms (LOTR Lothlorien), Mavora Lakes, Putangirua Pinnacles (LOTR Paths of the Dead), Kaitoke Regional Park, Karekare Beach (The Piano). Cathedral Cove (Narnia). The Otago hill country that anchored The Power of the Dog — most carry tourism-window restrictions because Hobbiton alone draws 600,000+ visitors annually. Insurance certificates, indemnification clauses, site-level bonds, and ACC universal accident cover compose the standard close-out package.