Regional and unitary council GIS
Regional and unitary councils are often the best first stop for hazards, catchments, freshwater, coast, environmental monitoring and regional planning. Unitary councils also publish district/city-style property and infrastructure information.
Te Ika-a-Māui / North Island
| Council | Current GIS/data starting point | Particularly useful for |
|---|---|---|
| Northland Regional Council | Online maps | property/environment/planning/hazards, OpenData regulatory layers, hazard viewers |
| Auckland Council | GeoMaps · Data Extract guide | property, infrastructure, hazards and many council datasets; extract tool supports area-based downloads |
| Waikato Regional Council | Maps and data · Data Catalogue | Waikato Maps, shared Data Portal, hazards, coastal inundation, metadata/downloads |
| Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Maps and data | Bay of Plenty Maps, BayExplorer, environmental/regulatory data and shared regional council mapping |
| Gisborne District Council / Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti | Tairāwhiti Maps and property search | property, planning, utilities, consents and local mapping |
| Taranaki Regional Council | Maps | LocalMaps, property/environmental layers, consents, biodiversity and open data |
| Horizons Regional Council | Public LocalMaps gallery | catchments, water, soils, property, One Plan, regulatory and environmental context |
| Hawke's Bay Regional Council | Maps and GIS · Open data | regional mapping, environmental data, open GIS downloads, Retrolens and time series |
| Greater Wellington | Geographic mapping information · Open data | environmental monitoring, parks, pests, hazards/climate, planning/consents and downloadable web services |
Te Waipounamu / South Island
| Council | Current GIS/data starting point | Particularly useful for |
|---|---|---|
| Tasman District Council | Maps | Top of the South Maps, GeoHUB downloads, property, utilities, planning and contours |
| Nelson City Council | Maps and GIS | Top of the South Maps and downloadable council GIS data |
| Marlborough District Council | Maps | Smart Maps, Open Data, property, environment-plan layers, LiDAR and historical aerials |
| West Coast Regional Council | Maps online | Spatial Data Hub, planning, hazards, property/environmental information and historic/current imagery routes |
| Environment Canterbury | Canterbury Maps | shared Canterbury council maps, water/environment, property/planning, hazards and regional datasets |
| Otago Regional Council | Maps and data | Otago Maps, Spatial Data Portal, hazards, water, ecosystems, plans, consents and LiDAR coverage |
| Environment Southland | SouthMaps · Environmental data | shared Southland council property/utilities, regional environment, monitoring and hazards |
Important shared systems
Several of these are more than one council's viewer:
- Waikato Data Portal shares datasets from councils across the Waikato region.
- Bay of Plenty Maps/BayExplorer includes regional collaboration with territorial councils.
- Top of the South Maps is shared between Tasman and Nelson.
- Canterbury Maps brings together local-government mapping across Canterbury.
- SouthMaps launched in October 2025 as a shared platform for Environment Southland, Southland District, Gore District and Invercargill City, with Great South.
These shared portals are often a better discovery starting point than searching each council website independently.
Hazards
For hazards, keep the published scenario and source visible. A regional flood model, city district-plan hazard overlay and national screening layer can all be legitimate products but answer different questions.
Continue with Hazards, planning and property and Taiao hazards.
Last reviewed: 26 August 2026