How we are funded
Our funding
Maritime NZ funding comes from a combination of:
- The Maritime and Oil Pollution Levies
- Health and Safety at Work Act Levy (the Working Safer Levy)
- Fuel Excise Duty (FED)
- Crown funding
- Direct fees
- Other sources of minor funding
Levies
Our main levies are the:
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) Levy
Maritime NZ allocates this funding as a designated health and safety regulator to do HSWA inspections and other activities for the maritime sector.
Fuel Excise Duty
Fuel Excise Duty is paid by recreational boaties when they put petrol in their boats.
Fuel Excise Duty funding is allocated to Maritime NZ under section 9(1) of the Land Transport Management Act 2003. The funding is for recreational boating safety activities including research, surveys, data analysis, safety awareness, education and guidance, outreach campaigns, operational policy development, monitoring, and investigations and prosecutions.
The funding also contributes to search and rescue coordination, the provision of navigation aids and maritime distress and safety communications.
Direct fees
These consist of fees for activities such as issuing maritime documents (for example, for entry into the Maritime Operator Safety System, seafarer certificates and endorsements, ship registration, and exemptions from rules). These are a combination of fixed fees, hourly rates for actual time taken, or reimbursement of expenses.
Crown funding
This is for activities such as technical policy advice, Ministerial services, Crown entity reporting, rules development, international engagement, search and rescue coordination, maritime security and safety.
Current levies and fees
View all our fees in the maritime sector.
Regulations
Maritime Levy review
Levy reviews are scheduled every three years and are based on the principle of cost recovery. They are designed to address the costs of any new functions or capability, and ongoing cost pressures and inflation impacts. We endeavour to provide sufficient notice to regulated entities for these reviews.
Maritime NZ held the scheduled three-year review of the Maritime Levy and Oil Pollution Levy in late 2025. These levies fund nearly half of Maritime NZ’s operations and are critical to maintaining a safe, clean, and sustainable maritime system. For this review, Maritime NZ sought no change to the Oil Pollution Levy, and provided three options for the Maritime Levy.