Waikato-Tainui lands were confiscated in or about 1864 and 1865, on the basis that the owners, or some of them, had rebelled against the Crown.

In response to claims that lands had been improperly confiscated or that excessive quantities of land had been confiscated, a commission of inquiry (the "Sim Commission") was appointed in 1926.

The commission's report recommended that the members of the tribes in the Waikato district whose lands had been confiscated should be compensated by an annual payment.

The government later acknowledged this and began a dialogue with the Waikato-Tainui iwi in 1989, which led to the 1995 settlement.

[3] The Tainui Maori Trust Fund was disestablished by the Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 1995.