The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust is a statutory organisation independent from the government that partners with private landowners to protect natural and cultural heritage sites on their land with covenants. A covenant is an agreement with a landowner to protect land forever. These covenants protect more than 180,000 ha of private land.

Partnerships have created a growing network of over 5,000 protected areas, ranging from small backyard patches to huge swathes of high country.