Resource management reform continues to progress, with replacement of the Resource Management Act by the Planning Act and the Natural Environment Act. What might be the first changes you see?

Things to keep in mind:

• • At the time of writing, the Planning Bill (and Natural Environment Bill) is just that, a Bill. The Planning Bill is still going through the required processes, before it passes into law and becomes the “Planning Act”.
  • It will take a number of years for full implementation of the Planning Act (at this stage that’s expected to be around the end of 2029) but some provisions will come into effect a month after Royal Assent (and end on a date set by Order in Council once all the combined regional plans are in place).
  • The Planning Act (as is written in the Bill at the moment) would immediately change section 104 of the RMA. This is the main section of the Resource Management Act that relates to making decisions to grant or decline resource consent applications. The main change is to prevent assessment and consideration of some effects.

A bit of everything?

As we said above, the changes in the Planning Act will take several years until they’re fully implemented (and those will be very busy years!). Until the new provisions are fully implemented, there will be a transition period where a hybrid system is used. This will be a mix of the RMA and the new Acts- the Planning Act (PA) and the Natural Environment Act (NEA). This delay and needing the hybrid approach is because the new planning system will have a “top down” approach (with more emphasis on plan making and less on resource consents)- it will take time to develop the new national level documents and plans. Together with local government amalgamations proposed, the next few years are going to be pretty chaotic.

At this stage the Planning Bill would require that:

• • Resource consent applications lodged before the transition period starts, would continue to be processed and determined under the Resource Management Act, as it stood just before royal assent of the Planning Act/ Natural Environment Act.
  • Applications lodged during the transition period, will be assessed under the RMA, but as it’s been amended by the Planning Act (as set out in Part 1, Schedule 11). These amendments include:
    • • Changes to what effects can be assessed. At this stage internal site effects (such as the internal and external layout of buildings), visual amenity, the type of residential use and social and economic status of future residents, views from private property, general landscape effects and negative effects on competing businesses will be excluded.
      • Removal of the ability to publicly notify a resource consent application due to special circumstances,
      • A new ability to use conditions that include financial assurances.
  • Any enforcement action commenced under the RMA before the transition period starts will similarly continue under the RMA (as it was immediately before Royal Assent).

When will we know?

Previous information from Parliament referred to “mid 2026” for the Planning Act and Natural Environment Act to be passed into law- so they’re not far away.  On 26th June the Environment Committee is due to report back to Parliament with recommendations for amendments, after having heard and considered submissions on both the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill.  The submissions sought wide ranging changes, so this will provide more insight into how the Bills might change as they become law.

Have a development in mind?

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