Last updated: Tuesday, 27 October 2026 | Rātū, 27 Whiringa ā-nuku, 2026
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Treaty settlement relationships and delivery – He Korowai Whakamana
He Korowai Whakamana is the Crown’s post-settlement framework. Endorsed by Cabinet in 2022, it was developed to strengthen oversight and accountability of the Crown’s Treaty settlement commitments and improve consistency of practice.
He Korowai Whakamana supports agencies to deliver Treaty settlement commitments by:
- providing guidance and tools to support settlement implementation, including a set of expectations for Crown commitment holders
- requiring agencies to track the status of their commitments through Te Haeata
- establishing annual and system reporting requirements on settlement progress
- providing a post-settlement resolution pathway for PSGEs and Crown agencies.
Together, these components help agencies deliver settlement commitments, support enduring Crown-Iwi relationships, and uphold the long-term intent of Treaty settlements.
Read the Cabinet paper:
Proactive release – He Korowai Whakamana – Enhancing oversight of Treaty settlement commitments
Find guidance, tools and resources to help Crown agencies understand, manage and deliver their Treaty settlement commitments, consistent with the purpose and intent of Treaty settlements and focused on enduring Treaty relationships. (Some documents may carry previous agency branding).
UPDATE: Guidance for Crown agencies upholding Treaty settlements
This guidance provides updated direction to support Crown agencies to deliver on historical Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi settlement commitments consistent with the purpose and intent of Treaty settlements and focused on enduring Treaty relationships.
It aims to support durable settlement outcomes and genuine Treaty partnership.
This guidance replaces the previous Crown expectations for Crown Treaty settlement commitment holders and reflects lessons learned, stakeholder feedback and current expectations for practice.
He Korowai Whakamana - Guidance for Crown agencies upholding Treaty Settlements
Te Puni Kōkiri's post-settlement stewardship role
Te Puni Kōkiri is responsible for post-settlement system stewardship, specifically monitoring and reporting on commitments, providing guidance and support across the system, supporting effective relationships between the Crown and settled groups, and maintaining oversight of post-settlement implementation.
Te Puni Kōkiri reports annually on Treaty settlement delivery through the Whole of System (Core Crown) Report on Treaty Settlement Delivery.
This guidance is one of several tools Te Puni Kōkiri is developing to support better Crown engagement with iwi and Māori.
Treaty settlement commitments
Te Haeata – the settlement database
Te Haeata provides post-settlement governance entities and agencies responsible for Treaty settlement commitments an online database of the commitments that are made in deeds of settlement and settlement legislation. This database enables agencies to more easily search, view and know their settlement commitments.
tehaeata.govt.nz .
Te Puni Kōkiri provides training on Te Haeata for post-settlement governance entities and agencies responsible for those commitments. If you are interested in this training, please contact Te Haeata Administration at tehaeata@tpk.govt.nz.
Guidance for Crown: Updating status of commitments on Te Haeata
Crown agencies have legal obligations to deliver the Treaty settlement commitments they are responsible for under deeds of settlement and settlement legislation.
Te Haeata allows agencies to track their progress in delivering those commitments.
Guidance has been developed for the Crown to update the status of commitments.
This guidance helps agencies with:
- entering a delivery-progress status and adding meaningful comments to the commitments they are responsible for
- providing documentation to support the status they have assigned
- keeping the progress statuses and comments up to date.
If you have any questions about this guidance or the work of updating the status of commitments, please contact Te Haeata Administration at tehaeata@tpk.govt.nz.
Guidance: Crown Post-Settlement Issues Resolution Pathway
Guidance has been developed to explain the Crown’s process for resolving post-settlement issues, as set out in He Korowai Whakamana – the Crown’s framework for enhancing oversight of and accountability for settlements of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims.
Guidance Crown post-settlement issue resolution pathway. [PDF, 144 KB]
Right of first refusal guides
A series of guides have been developed to provide information on the Rights of First Refusal (RFR) that are included in Treaty settlements.
The guides are available on the Toitū Te Whenua – Land Information New Zealand website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guidance for Crown Agencies Upholding Treaty Settlements
1. Who is this guidance for?
This guidance is primarily intended for core Crown agencies responsible for implementing Treaty settlement commitments. It may also be useful for Crown entities, local authorities, and other organisations who hold Treaty settlement commitments, engage with settled groups and support settlement outcomes.
2. Why has this guidance been updated?
The updated guidance reflects developments, including the transfer of post-settlement responsibilities to Te Puni Kōkiri, and the Auditor-General’s recommendations in the report How public organisations are fulfilling Treaty settlements (April 2025), in which the Auditor-General concluded a significant shift is required in how Crown agencies manage settlement relationships in order to realise the full intent of settlements.
The guidance also draws on lessons from the 2025 Whole of System (Core Crown) Report on Treaty Settlement Delivery and Te Tautuhi ō Rongo - Our Policy Framework.
3. How does this guidance relate to He Korowai Whakamana?
He Korowai Whakamana is the Cabinet-endorsed post-settlement framework for the Crown.
This guidance provides updated practical direction for agencies responsible for implementing Treaty settlement commitments.
4. How should Crown agencies use this guidance?
The guidance is intended as a practical tool for agencies focused on what good looks like. It is deliberately descriptive rather than prescriptive, enabling agencies to apply it, and build on it, in their own strategic contexts and programmes.
5. What does good look like when upholding Treaty settlements?
Treaty settlements reset the relationships between Iwi and hapū and the Crown.
Upholding Treaty settlements means government agencies going about their work in a way that supports strong and enduring Treaty relationships. It involves delivering settlement commitments as intended, understanding settlement context, working collaboratively across the Crown, and supporting durable settlement outcomes over time.
6. When should agencies consider Treaty settlement commitments?
Agencies should consider settlement commitments, relationships and intent early in policy development, legislative reform, operational planning, funding decisions, programme design, and engagement activities to ensure commitments and relationships are appropriately recognised and upheld.
Agencies should have a system to understand and deliver on their individual settlement commitments and the wider holistic intent of Treaty settlements.
7. What role does Te Puni Kōkiri play in the post-settlement system?
Te Puni Kōkiri is responsible for post-settlement stewardship, including leading relationships with post-settlement governance entities (PSGEs), monitoring and reporting on the Crown's implementation of Treaty settlement commitments, providing system leadership and guidance, and maintaining oversight of post-settlement implementation across the Crown.
Te Puni Kōkiri reports annually on Treaty settlement delivery through the Whole of System (Core Crown) Report.
This guidance is one of a number of tools Te Puni Kōkiri is developing to support better Crown engagement with iwi and Māori. The most prominent of these is Te Tautuhi ō Rongo, our Treaty-based policy framework.
8. What role do Te Puni Kōkiri regional offices play?
Te Puni Kōkiri regional staff lead relationships with PSGEs and work alongside them and Crown agencies to understand iwi priorities, provide local insights, support coordination across the Crown, and help connect agencies with relevant PSGE representatives. This role complements the direct relationships that agencies are responsible for building and maintaining with PSGEs.
9. Where can agencies go for additional support and resources?
Additional resources are provided in the Appendix to the guidance, including links to Te Tautuhi ō Rongo, Te Kāhui Māngai, Te Tari Whakatau resources, Auditor-General reports, Treasury guidance, and other Treaty settlement implementation materials.
10. What is Te Haeata?
Te Haeata is a searchable record of Treaty of Waitangi settlement commitments, designed to make commitments more visible and accessible to post-settlement governance entities and the agencies responsible for delivering them. It provides an online database of commitments contained in deeds of settlement and settlement legislation, enabling agencies to easily search, view, and manage their settlement commitments.
Nau mai haere mai ki Te Haeata | Te Haeata
Te Puni Kōkiri provides Te Haeata training for agencies. To learn more or arrange training, please email tehaeata@tpk.govt.nz.
11. How should agencies use Te Haeata?
Agencies are expected to maintain accurate and up-to-date information on settlement commitments, including delivery progress, supporting evidence, risks, and commentary where appropriate.
Data from Te Haeata supports agencies to report on their settlement delivery in annual reports.