Family Trust Register (New Zealand)

Is there a public trust register in New Zealand?

New Zealand does not operate a public, searchable register of family trusts. Trust deeds are private legal documents drafted between a settlor, trustees and beneficiaries. They are not lodged with the Companies Office, Land Information New Zealand, or any other central registry simply by virtue of being created.

This is different from the position in some overseas jurisdictions (for example, the UK Trust Registration Service) where trusts are recorded on a register maintained by the tax authority. In New Zealand, trust information sits inside IRD's filing system rather than on a public-facing register.

What does exist is a confidential disclosure regime administered by Inland Revenue, plus indirect public traces (land titles, company shareholdings, court judgments). Together these produce a partial picture, but there is no single trust register you can search.

IRD Trust Disclosure Rules (since 2022)

From the 2021-22 tax year, IRD has required expanded disclosure on the annual IR6 trust income tax return. The rules apply to most domestic trusts that earn income, with limited exceptions for non-active trusts, charitable trusts already registered with Charities Services, and certain widely-held or foreign-exempt categories.

For each trust that falls within scope, the IR6 must include:

• Financial statements — a profit-and-loss statement, statement of financial position (assets and liabilities), and reconciliation between accounting profit and taxable income.
• Settlor information — name, IRD number, date of birth and tax residency of every person who has settled property on the trust (including historical settlors, not just current-year settlements).
• Settlements made in the year — nature and value of each settlement, including nominal-value transfers.
• Distributions — amount and nature of every distribution to each beneficiary, including non-cash benefits.
• Beneficiary details — name, IRD number and date of birth of each beneficiary who received a distribution or has a vested interest.
• Trustee details — name, IRD number, address and contact details of each trustee.

The disclosure regime exists to give IRD better visibility of trust use following the rise in the top personal tax rate. The information is held confidentially within IRD and is not published. For current forms, exemptions and filing dates, see the Inland Revenue website at ird.govt.nz.

Proposed beneficial-ownership register

Separately from the IRD regime, New Zealand has consulted over several years on a beneficial-ownership register for companies and limited partnerships, administered by the Companies Office. The objective is to identify the natural persons who ultimately control entities, in line with international anti-money-laundering standards.

As of 2026, those proposals remain at consultation and policy-design stage rather than being in force as a live register. If enacted, the register would primarily capture companies and limited partnerships (and the natural persons behind them) rather than family trusts themselves. Family trusts would only appear indirectly, to the extent they hold shares or partnership interests.

Trustees should monitor announcements from the Companies Office and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for the legislation's progress.

How to search for trust information in NZ

Because there is no public deed register, anyone trying to find information about a New Zealand trust generally has to triangulate from indirect sources:

• Companies Office — if a trustee company holds the trust's assets, the trustee company is searchable on the Companies Register. This shows directors and registered shareholders but not the underlying trust deed.
• Land Information New Zealand — titles to land are searchable for a fee. Where the registered owner is a trustee company or named trustees "as trustees of the [Name] Trust", the trust's name is visible on the title, although the deed itself is not.
• Court records — trust disputes that reach the High Court or Court of Appeal generally produce published judgments through the New Zealand Legal Information Institute and the courts website.
• Charities Register — charitable trusts (a distinct category) are searchable at charities.govt.nz, with full financials disclosed.

What you cannot do, in the ordinary case, is type a family name into a public register and pull up the deed, settlor list, or beneficiary list of a private family trust.

What trustees must keep on record

The Trusts Act 2019 imposes a separate set of record-keeping duties that apply regardless of IRD disclosure. Under section 45 of the Act, every trustee must keep, so far as is reasonable, the following core documents:

• The trust deed and any variations
• Records of trust property (assets, liabilities, valuations)
• Records of trustee decisions made during the trusteeship
• Written contracts entered into during the trusteeship
• Accounting and financial records, including financial statements
• Records of appointments, removals and discharges of trustees
• Letters or memoranda of wishes from the settlor
• Other documents necessary to administer the trust

Records must be kept for the duration of the trusteeship and handed on to successor trustees. Full text of the Act is available at legislation.govt.nz.

Who needs help complying

Trustees most likely to benefit from professional support with IRD disclosure and Trusts Act record-keeping include:

• Trusts with significant annual income or complex investment portfolios
• Trusts holding multiple properties or commercial real estate
• Trusts that own operating businesses or company shares
• Trusts with multiple settlors or historical settlements that need to be reconstructed
• Trusts whose deeds pre-date 2021 and have never been reviewed for Trusts Act 2019 alignment
• Trusts where distributions are made to multiple beneficiaries each year

For these trusts, the volume of information required on the IR6 — particularly historical settlor information — can be onerous if records have not been maintained.

Penalties for non-disclosure

Failure to comply with IR6 disclosure obligations is a tax compliance matter. IRD can impose:

• Late filing penalties for IR6 returns lodged after the due date.
• Shortfall penalties under the Tax Administration Act 1994 where missing or inaccurate information results in an under-stated tax position. These range from 20% (lack of reasonable care) up to 150% (evasion).
• Use-of-money interest on any tax under-paid as a result of incomplete disclosure.
• Loss of trustee protection — under the Trusts Act 2019, trustees who fail to keep core documents may be exposed to personal liability if beneficiaries or successor trustees later challenge their administration.

In serious cases of deliberate non-disclosure, prosecution under the Tax Administration Act is also available to IRD.

If you are unsure whether your trust is meeting its IR6 disclosure or Trusts Act 2019 record-keeping duties, a structured trust review is the simplest way to find out. Use the form to request a confidential conversation about your situation.