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Development Contributions Policy Adopted
Hannah Thomson
Jun, 25

You’ll recall from our earlier blog (here) that Auckland Council have been undertaking a review of its Development Contributions (DC) Policy.

Development contributions are fees charged by a local Council for new development. This could be residential development such as a new dwelling, minor dwelling, subdivision, or a changed use in an existing building. Development contributions are also required for rural development, including rural subdivision.

What does the development contribution policy relate to? 

The Auckland Council development contributions policy seeks to share the cost of growth- related infrastructure between developers and ratepayers.  In Auckland, the Development Contributions Policy 2025 is linked to the long- term plan, and a 30-year infrastructure investment programme, including in investment priority areas where the most growth is expected (Inner Northwest, Tamaki, Mt Roskill, Mangere and Drury). This also assumes that around 600,000 more people will be living in Auckland by 2054.

The contribution value varies between areas and relates to new or upgraded infrastructure for:

  • transport, footpaths, roads and intersections,
  • parks, park facilities and sports grounds,
  • drainage systems and stormwater mitigation,
  • community facilities.

DC Policy Consultation

In 2024, Auckland Council put out the Development contributions consultation proposal for feedback. This indicated very significant rises in the DC level in some areas. For example, in the Inner North- West contributions were proposed to increase from $25,167 to $98,000 and in Tamaki it was proposed to increase from $31,157 to $119,000. Unsurprisingly, feedback was provided to Auckland Council that the increases were too high, weren’t calculated correctly, were not spread over the lifetime of the infrastructure, and would make a large number of developments uneconomic.

The adopted Development Contributions Policy 2025

Following further public feedback, an updated Development Contributions Policy was presented to the Auckland Council Governing Body on 30 May 2025 and was adopted. The value of development contributions will be lower than that consulted on but increase by 2% each year. This is so that people who develop land now and those who develop land in the future, pay a similar cost in real terms.

On average, development contributions in the investment priority areas of Inner Northwest, Tamaki, Mt Roskill, Mangere and Drury , paid in this financial year, will be $48,000 (then increasing 2% annually for each subsequent financial year). This is reduced from $68,000 that was in the draft DC policy.

Development contributions in the rest of Auckland will remain on average $20,000 per household equivalent for this financial year (as compared to $32,000 which was in the draft DC policy[1].)

A comparison of some of the development contributions are shown below[2].

Development contribution costs

The new policy will come into effect on 1 July 2025.

Have a development in mind?

With over 35 years of combined experience processing resource consent applications, including being a current planning consultant to Auckland Council, we have significant experience on both sides of the fence.

Get in contact with our experienced team to discuss your next project. hello@planningplus.co.nz or (09) 427 9966.

 

 

[1] New Development Contributions Policy approved – OurAuckland

[2] Ibid

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With over 35 years of combined experience processing resource consent applications, including being a current planning consultant to Auckland Council, we have significant experience on both sides of the fence.

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Hannah Thomson

Hannah Thomson is Director of Planning Plus® and has over 20 years of resource management experience working in both local government and the private sector. This includes five years at Rodney District Council in roles including Senior Planner and Team Leader.

Hannah has a wide range of experience including commercial, rural, residential and coastal development and subdivision on small to large scales and appearances at both Council and Environment Court as an expert witness for mediation and hearings. Hannah has assisted Councils with policy development and has also assisted private individuals with submissions to Council.

Disclaimer

Please remember that the advice in this blog is general in nature and based on information and advice available at the time of writing. We recommend you get your own planning advice. As with all our blogs this information is preliminary in nature only and we have used our best endeavours to ensure it is correct at the time of writing. It is not intended to substitute for your own investigations or obtaining specific advice from professionals. Planning Plus LtdTM is not liable in any way for any errors or omissions.