Who We Are

There are 5 million people who call Aotearoa New Zealand ‘home’.  Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. There are tribes or iwi throughout Aotearoa. Māori regard the land as sacred and their homeland, which is under their tribal guardianship. Therefore, productions should seek the blessing of the local iwi, whether they directly involve Māori or not. Māori or Te Reo Māori is also an official language, along with English and New Zealand Sign Language.  

The majority of  the population are of British descent, but there are significant immigrant groups from Asia, the Pacific Islands and Europe.  80% of the population reside in the cities and 75% of the population are in the North Island. 

Our Natural Beauty

New Zealand is known for its diverse scenery, as seen in Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Avatar, Ghost in the Shell, Pete’s Dragon, Mission Impossible 7. The Southern Alps run up the middle of the South Island to golden sand beaches and lush bush. There are also fiords, gorges, glaciers, lakes and rivers. The North Island has rolling hills of green pastures, volcanic mountains with surrounding desert areas, hot springs, mud pools, geysers, caves, rainforests and large pine forests.  At the bottom of the North Island is Wellington, our capital city and nearer the top of the North Island is Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.  Both islands have black iron sand beaches on the west coast and golden sand on the east coast. We don’t want to brag, but it is pretty spectacular. 

Climate

Aotearoa has a temperate climate, apart from a subtropical area in the North Island.  There is moderate rainfall in most areas all year round. Summers (Jan – Apr) are warm throughout the whole country. In winter (June – Sept) the North Island experiences snow only on mountain peaks. There is more extensive snowfall in the South Island’s larger alpine areas.

Locations

You’ll already be familiar with New Zealand’s cinematic landscapes, thanks to their role in many of the most iconic film and TV projects of all time. 

New Zealand locations have much more to offer than just the epic landscapes of Lord of the Rings and unimaginable beauty of The Piano. There are creative solutions for your production hiding everywhere, as long as you know where to look and who, and how to ask. That’s where Tahi comes in.

Each region has a specific film office dedicated to helping visiting productions to shoot in that area. Tahi have strong relationships with all of them, enabling us to set up your production in the most suitable and desirable location.

Our knowledge of, and passion for, the people, places and cultures that are Aotearoa New Zealand, runs much deeper than just location scouting. Finding the perfect location and location management team for your story is just the start of your Tahi location experience. 

Production Guidelines - “The Blue Book”

New Zealand crews are all contractors, which means no employment fringes are payable by the production. 

The Blue Book traces its origins back to the 1970's and reflects the common practice working conditions of screen production crew in New Zealand, along with the common practice of the international screen production industry. After extensive negotiations and consultation the 2004 edition was replaced by the October 2017 edition used today. Other common practice agreements include the White Book (writers) and the Individual Performers Agreement. 

And there are well-established Guilds for actors, producers, writers,  directors, technicians, editors, stunts, women, Māori, Pan Asian and Pacific Islanders. 

Iwi Consultation and participation

New Zealand has more than 100 Iwi (Māori Tribal Organisations) throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. As guardians of the whenua (land) Māori must be consulted in a meaningful way in order to shoot in certain areas. The Tahi team firmly believe that early engagement with iwi is not only necessary, but will result in meaningful and long lasting relationships that will extend far beyond the obvious needs of the production.  We offer a comprehensive consultation service with Iwi as an essential component of any project.

Resource Management Act 1991

The purpose of this act is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.

GST

GST is a tax on the final consumer at a rate of 15 percent (as of 1 October 2010) for all goods and services.

Department of Conservation

New Zealand’s national parks and many areas of protected land cover one third of the country.

A concession from the Department of Conservation (DOC) is required for all film crews and commercial photographers involved in filming/commercial photography on public conservation land managed by the Department of Conservation.

Health and Safety

Health and Safety in New Zealand workplaces is regulated by the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015. The act promotes health and safety management in the workplace and focuses on the prevention of harm to employees at work.  Your obligations will depend on your role within the production process, including the amount of control and influence you have over any particular aspect of the project – the more senior your role, the more responsibility you will have for ensuring the safety of yourself and others. Employers, employees and self-employed workers are expected to ensure that their actions at work do not result in harm.

Incentives

New Zealand offers generous incentives under the New Zealand Production Grant. International productions can receive a baseline 20% grant on Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE). This is a grant, not a tax rebate and is backed by the New Zealand Government. There is also potential for an additional 5% uplift for productions that demonstrate significant economic benefits for New Zealand.

Eligible formats include feature films, scripted and unscripted drama, factual, animated and reality productions. For television there is no minimum requirement for duration per episode or minimum expenditure per commercial hour.

To receive this grant your projects will need to meet the following QNZPE thresholds: 

Feature Film = minimum QNZPE of NZ$15 million

Television and Other Non-Feature = minimum QNZPE of $4 million

For television there is no minimum requirement for duration per episode or minimum expenditure per commercial hour.

We are here to ensure you get the best of what New Zealand has to offer in incentives as well as providing substantial savings for your production. With no fringes on wages here the labour market is deregulated meaning no payroll tax, union fringes or personal benefits such as holiday pay, health or government levies.