Tāngata Whenua and Community Catchment Fund

Expressions of interest are open from December 2025 until 30 April 2026.

You can submit online below or by getting in touch with one of our land management team.

After expressions of interest close in April, projects that meet the funding criteria will be contacted by a member of our Land Management team to review your project details before it goes to the decision-making panel in mid-late July.

 Applicants will be contacted about the outcome of their application late July and if approved, project works can generally begin from mid-August. 

Funding is available where:

• the applicant is an established legal or operational tāngata whenua entity such as a marae committee, hapū trust, Iwi Authority, or a consultant contracted to act on the entity’s behalf; or
• the applicant is an established legal or operational community or catchment group.

Note: A ‘single’ landowner cannot apply – they must be a part of collective or be a representative for a tāngata whenua entity that owns that land with permission to make decisions on that land.

If you’re a single landowner, we have alternative funding options that may be better suited for your project.

Two types of expressions of interest can be made:

• A single-year project can receive up to $40,000 excluding GST. spent within a single year.
• A multi-year project can receive up to $60,000 split up over up to three years to the value of $20,000 maximum per year (e.g. year 1: 20,000, year 2: $20,000, year 3: $20,000).

Note:

• All planting projects must include pre planting control and at least one post planting release spray. In kikuyu dominated areas, it is likely two release sprays will be required. If this falls into the following financial year, the above note applies.
• All project works need to be completed within the financial year of grant funding (1 July – 30th June).  If a project is likely to go over this timeframe, it may be better to make this a multiyear project.
  
  Example: We cannot grant funding for a conference from the FY2025/26 budget if the conference is in August 2026 (FY2026/27)

The Tāngata Whenua and Community Catchment Fund is aimed at supporting projects with freshwater quality outcomes. Below are the types of projects that this fund can support and examples of actions:

If you are a landowner in the Kaipara catchment your funding stream has moved from the Northland Regional Council to the new Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) Programme.

For information about the grants and funding available through the KMR Programme, and to register your interest, visit: kmr.org.nz/funding

• The TWCCF is not available for capital expenditure including equipment, wages, building costs, and the purchase of assets, with the exception of fencing materials and water tanks/troughs that allow for stock exclusion from waterways. We may make exceptions for small, everyday field equipment that allows applicants to undertake the mahi themselves, for example spades, gloves, and waders. This is intended to empower kaitiaki to take an active role in their projects.  
• All projects must have a minimum of 30% contribution from the applicant.  This can be made up from in-kind contributions or cash. If a project is multi-year, the 30% applicant contribution can be spread across the length of the project.
• The fund cannot cover training without a direct freshwater quality link, for example it cannot fund first aid, traffic management and health and safety trainings. 

If you have any questions about the fund or want to talk to someone about your project before applying, please contact our land management team:

E: twcf@nrc.govt.nz | P: 0800 002 004

We can help clarify eligibility for funding and guide you through the process.