--- title: Kaupapa Māori and Government Data Governance Frameworks description: There are many ways to recognise Māori Data Sovereignty, and there is no single framework. Over the past decade, Māori researchers, iwi, hapū, Māori organisations and practitioners, in addition to url: https://www.taiuru.co.nz/kaupapa-maori-data-governance-frameworks/ markdown_url: https://www.taiuru.co.nz/kaupapa-maori-data-governance-frameworks.md type: post slug: kaupapa-maori-data-governance-frameworks author: Karaitiana Taiuru published: 2026-10-31T07:02:10Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:19:49Z language: en-NZ taxonomies: category: - Māori Data Frameworks - Māori Data Sovereignty and Governance word_count: 955 tokens: 1696 --- # Kaupapa Māori and Government Data Governance Frameworks There are many ways to recognise Māori Data Sovereignty, and there is no single framework. Over the past decade, Māori researchers, iwi, hapū, Māori organisations and practitioners, in addition to the New Zealand Government have built a wide range of kaupapa Māori frameworks, principles, guidelines and licences. This page lists 70 unique Māori AI and Data Governance frameworks. Each one gives effect to the inherent rights Māori hold over Māori data. This range is a strength, not a weakness and reflects that there is no one AI or Data governance framework suitable for organisation. However, this does reinforce that any organisation cannot claim that Māori Data Sovereignty is too hard to put into practice, or that it has to wait for one approved national standard. Practical, tested tools already exist for almost every sector and type of data. What matters is choosing a framework that fits the data, the people it comes from and the purpose. That choice should be made with the Māori communities who hold kaitiakitanga over that data. The frameworks below are listed so that organisations, researchers and agencies can find the one that best fits their purpose. Listing of a framework does not mean I endorse it. Frameworks by Dr Karaitiana Taiuru Framework Reference / URL 1. He Tangata, He Karetao, He Ātārangi – Indigenous Peoples AI framework (2026) taiuru.co.nz/kaupapa-maori-ai-framework 2. Wai 2522 Māori AI and Data Framework – four-step framework for organisations (2026) TBA 3. Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for AI, Algorithms, Data and IoT (2020) taiuru.maori.nz/tiritiethicalguide 4. Kaitiakitanga Māori Data Sovereignty Licences and modified Māori Data Sovereignty Principles (2021) taiuru.co.nz/maori-data-sovereignty-licences 5. Tikanga Tawhito: Tikanga Hou – Kaitiaki Guidelines for DNA Research, Storage and Seed Banks with Taonga Materials taiuru.maori.nz/guidelines-for-dna-research-storage-and-seed-banks-with-taonga-materials   Organisations with Māori Data Frameworks The following organisations have developed Māori Data Frameworks which provide useful reference models: # Organisation Reference / URL 1. Ahuriri Edwards-Mutu Tikanga in Technology | Edition 1: Kaitiakitanga in the Age of AI 2. AKO Ethics and AI: a starter guide for educators 3. Amber Taylor Native Sentient Governance zenodo.org/records/21219022 4. ARA Journeys – The Whakapapa Tech Stack arajourneys.com 5. Āti Awa Toa Hauora Partnership Board, Manatū Hauora, Catalyst IT and Nicholson Consulting Te Māra o Hine-Raraunga 6. Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (PDF) 7. AWS New Zealand Māori Data Lens for the Well-Architected Framework 8. BrightThink Limited MBCA AI system Ao ki Tua 9. Catalyst NZ Catalyst and Te Tiriti 10. Crop and Food Available as PDF 11. Deloitte Available as PDF 12. Digital ID New Zealand – DINZ Aotearoa’s Digital Public Infrastructure honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi 13. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora HISO 10094:2022 Māori Descent and Iwi Affiliation Data Protocols – tewhatuora.govt.nz (PDF) 14. Heidi Healthcare data sovereignty 15. Lee Palamo and Lian Tovine-Passmore Tikanga-Led Framework for Conversational AI 16. Manareview.ai Cultural Impact Assessments 17. Māori Future Global Systems Charmaine Clark 18. Microsoft New Zealand with Te Tumu Paeroa Te Tumu Paeroa Māori data sovereignty framework 19. New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) Tiaki Pakihi Māori 20. Ngāti Toa and ITeam (Oracle) – The Five S’s teamcloud.nz 21. Ngāti Whakauae Available as PDF 22. One NZ Honouring the Principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi policy (PDF) 23. Open Soul AI opensoul.business 24. Payments NZ Ngā Tohu Ārahi – API Centre data handling guidelines 25. Rangitāne o Wairarapa Available as PDF 26. Rotokawa Primary School AI Bot in partnership with mana whenua 27. Spark Te Kāpehu Whetū 28. Summit Institute Building AI Literacy in a Culturally Responsive Way 29. Tākoha Foundations // Five Pillars 30. Te Kāhui Raraunga Māori Data Governance Model – kahuiraraunga.io (PDF) 31. Te Pūkenga Respect of Māori data sovereignty when using (or sharing) personal data 32. Te Pūtahitanga Data Sciences Tikanga-ā-Kaipakihi© Governance Framework – maori-ai.com 33. Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – Māori Language Commission Reo Māori with Google Maps 34. Te Tihi (Central Iwi and Hapū Health Collective) Te Manawhakahaere Raraunga Plan 35. Te Tira Whakamātaki Reframing Data as a Taonga: A Māori Data Sovereignty Framework – ttw.nz (PDF) 36. Te Tuhu Harrison at Te Aka Matariki AI Stewardship Architecture Constraining Artificial Intelligence in Living Systems Governance 37. Te Whakaiti Tikanga in Technology newsletter 38. Tipuna AI tupunapai.com 39. University of Otago Forensics Whānau Data Sovereignty 40. Whakatere Financial Systems for Marae and Hapū whakatere.com 41. Whare Hauora Māori data sovereignty in practice – from Governance to Operations and Why   New Zealand Government Agencies with custom Māori Data Governance Based on Official Information Act Requests in 2024-2025 the following New Zealand government agencies have included Māori Data Governance into existing data frameworks. The updated 2026 list will be updated in early 2027. # Agency Website 1 Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) www.acc.co.nz 2 Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand | Aviation Security Service www.aviation.govt.nz 3 Crown Law Office www.crownlaw.govt.nz 4 Department of Conservation www.doc.govt.nz 5 Department of Corrections www.corrections.govt.nz 6 Department of Internal Affairs www.dia.govt.nz 7 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet www.dpmc.govt.nz 8 Education Review Office www.ero.govt.nz 9 Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora www.tewhatuora.govt.nz 10 Inland Revenue Department www.ird.govt.nz 11 Land Information New Zealand www.linz.govt.nz 12 Ministry for Culture and Heritage www.mch.govt.nz 13 Ministry for Primary Industries www.mpi.govt.nz 14 Ministry for Regulation www.regulation.govt.nz 15 Ministry for the Environment environment.govt.nz 16 Ministry for Women www.women.govt.nz 17 Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment www.mbie.govt.nz 18 Ministry of Defence www.defence.govt.nz 19 Ministry of Education www.education.govt.nz 20 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade www.mfat.govt.nz 21 New Zealand Qualifications Authority www.nzqa.govt.nz 22 New Zealand Trade and Enterprise www.nzte.govt.nz 23 Tertiary Education Commission www.tec.govt.nz How to cite this page Taiuru, K. (2026, October 31). Kaupapa Māori data frameworks. Taiuru & Associates Ltd. https://www.taiuru.co.nz/kaupapa-maori-data-governance-frameworks