STAGE ONE: 

Pre-negotiation (Completed)

• Mandating process – the claimants vote on the entity that will represent them in negotiations
• Signing the Deed of Mandate – the Crown must recognise the mandate before negotiations begin
• Choosing negotiators – the mandated group decides which individuals will lead its negotiations 
• Signing Terms of Negotiation – between the Crown and the mandated representatives 

STAGE TWO:

Negotiation

• We have now signed our  Agreement in Principle (AIP) – view this here
• Ratification process – voting on the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE)
• Initialling a Deed of Settlement (iDOS) – the draft content of the settlement
• Ratification process – voting on the proposed Deed of Settlement.

STAGE THREE:

Legislation

If ‘sufficient support’ is received, the settlement goes through the law-making process. The process is:

• The settlement is introduced to Parliament as a Bill.
• The Bill goes to the Māori Affairs Select Committee and is open for public submissions
• The Bill goes through the Second and Third Readings in Parliament, and receives the Royal Assent, becoming law (the Settlement Act)
• The claimant group receives a letter confirming that the settlement has been made law and is complete

STAGE FOUR:

Implementation

NHIT and the Crown work together to ensure the settlement comes to light, including by:

• Final steps in the set-up of the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE) and Trust Deed, and the election of trustees (usually while the legislation stage is underway)
• The redress package is transferred to the PSGE within an agreed amount of time, usually 40 working days after the settlement becomes law
• All other arrangements detailed in the agreement are implemented