In October 2023, we broke down the new fees introduced for the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Now, just over a year later, there’s been a change: the annual per-hectare fee for post-1989 forest land has been reduced to $14.90/hectare per year (down from $30.25/ha/year). You may have seen this discussed in our January 2025 CarbonCurious session. While this change in annual charge reduces some financial pressure on forest owners, it’s part of wider changes to the ETS that landholders need to be aware of in 2025.
Note: MPI has confirmed that invoicing for the 2024–25 financial year will begin in February 2025, which means landholders will soon be receiving bills for this reduced rate. If you’ve got registered forest, this is an important change that directly affects your costs.
Updated ETS Fees (2025)
Most other ETS fees remain unchanged, but here’s a quick recap of the key charges (all fees exclude GST):
Service | Fees (NZD) +GST |
Annual fee per hectare of Post-1989 land registered in the ETS | $14.90/ha/year +GST (previously $30.25) |
Registering Post-1989 Forest Land | $488.89 – $4,125.00 +GST |
Adding More Land into the ETS | $88.89 – $4,125.00 +GST |
Emissions Returns | $165.00 +GST |
Moving standard forestry to permanent forestry | $742.50 +GST |
Deregistering from the ETS (removing all Post-1989 forest land) | $577.50 +GST + surrender of all issued units |
The full list of fees is available on the MPI website.
Beyond Fees: What Else Is Changing in 2025?
This fee reduction is happening alongside broader ETS rule changes that could impact forestry participants.You may have seen these discussed in our previous blogs:
Here’s a quick recap of key changes to look out for:
1. FMA Measurement Changes Forests registered before 2023 no longer need to complete a new Field Measurement Approach (FMA) assessment for the 2023–2025 monitoring period. Future FMA assessments will still be required in later compliance cycles.
2. Afforestation Restrictions & Transitional Exemptions
The government has announced new Land-Use Classification (LUC) restrictions, which could limit exotic afforestation on certain farmland (particularly LUC 1–6 land). Transitional exemptions may apply to afforestation projects started before 4 December 2024, but the criteria remain unclear.
3. ETS Market Pressures & Auctions
The March 2025 ETS auction has a floor price of $68, and only 1.5 million units will be available at this price. Secondary market prices suggest traders expect this auction to fail, creating short-term uncertainty.
4. Pre-2025 Forest Registrations
Forests registered before 2022 will continue to qualify under existing rules. Forests registered after October 2024 could face new eligibility requirements, especially for exotic plantings.
Our Perspective
We were disappointed with the introduction of ETS fees, particularly the per-hectare charge, because of its disproportionate impact on native forests with lower sequestration rates.
The reduction in fees is welcome news and a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t erase the issue of charging landholders for participating in an incentive scheme—which still weakens the incentives for native forest restoration.
While this change eases some of the financial pressure, broader ETS policy decisions are still unfolding in 2025, and it’s worth keeping a close eye on these updates.
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