Terms and conditions

LAWA Terms of Use

Last updated: 15 October 2025

 

1. Introduction

LAWA (Land, Air, Water Aotearoa) is a collaborative project between New Zealand regional and unitary councils, central government agencies, and research institutions, including:
  • Regional and Unitary Councils: Auckland Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Environment Canterbury, Gisborne District Council, Greater Wellington, Hawke's Bay Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, Marlborough District Council, Nelson City Council, Northland Regional Council, Otago Regional Council, Environment Southland, Taranaki Regional Council, Tasman District Council, Waikato Regional Council, West Coast Regional Council
  • Central Government Agencies: Ministry for the Environment, Stats NZ, Department of Conservation
  • Research Partners: Cawthron Institute

 

This website is operated by Regional Software Holdings Limited on behalf of the LAWA project partners. It provides public access to environmental information to support understanding, research, and informed decision-making.

By using this site, you agree to these Terms of Use.

 

2. Copyright and content use

Ownership:

  • The content of this website is owned by LAWA partner agencies and their licensors.
  • Trade marks such as "LAWA" or "Land, Air Water Aotearoa" are also protected.

 

Permitted use:

  • You may access and use content for personal, educational, or non-commercial purposes, provided LAWA and the relevant partner agency are acknowledged as the source.
  • Datasets licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) may be used for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate attribution is given.
  • Always check dataset metadata for licensing information; some datasets are provided without an explicit license and may have restrictions.

 

 Prohibited use:

  • Copying, distributing, or creating derivative works of website content or trade marks without written permission of the site operator, except as allowed above.
  • Using content in a way that implies endorsement by LAWA or its partners.

 

3. Disclaimer

The information provided on this website is provided in good faith. While reasonable steps have been taken to ensure accuracy, LAWA partners and the site operator:

  • Make no warranties regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any content.
  • Accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this information.
  • Note that the information on this website does not replace or alter the Resource Management Act 1991 or any other laws of New Zealand; and the information on this website is not legal advice.
  • Note that real-time or provisional data may change without notice.
  • May change information contained on this website without notice.
  • Are not responsible for the content provided by third parties or linked external websites.

 

Special note - Actions for Healthy Waterways topic

The data and stories displayed in the Actions for Healthy Waterways topic are sourced from the national  Healthy Waterways register and are not validated by the LAWA project. The information in the register may come from many sources including central and local government, industry organisations, iwi/hapū, catchment groups and individuals. The information may be incomplete and may not necessarily reflect the views of LAWA partner agencies. This topic is designed to showcase actions being taken that could provide inspiration and encouragement to others and help with our future understanding of which actions makes the most difference to the health of waterways depending on the catchment context. The site operator may remove any content from this topic that we, in our absolute discretion, consider inappropriate, without notice.   

 

4. Privacy

LAWA and its partners respect your privacy.

  • We do not collect personal information unless you choose to give it to us.
  • Any personal information you provide may be used to validate content, respond to enquiries, or report pollution incidents.
  • If you provide content (images, stories, events), ensure you have rights to share it and the consent of anyone depicted.  
  • We use aggregated analytics (e.g. Google Analytics) and cookies to monitor site usage; these do not personally identify users.
  • We comply with the relevant information legislation, such as the Privacy Act 2020, the Official Information Act 1982, and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

 

Your rights:

  • You may access or correct personal information held by contacting our Privacy Officer.
  • Personal information will only be disclosed as required by law or with your consent.

 

Privacy Officer

c/- Regional Software Holdings Limited

PO Box 1007

Palmerston North Central

Palmerston North 4440.

Email: info@lawa.org.nz

 

5. Links to other websites

  • Links are provided for convenience. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by LAWA or its partners.
  • We are not responsible for content on external websites.

 

6. Changes to Terms

  • LAWA and its partners may update these Terms of Use from time to time.
  • Users are encouraged to review this page regularly for updates.  

 

7. Contact

For questions about these Terms of Use, data use, licensing, or privacy, contact:

info@lawa.org.nz