Anyone planning development in New Zealand at the moment faces an awkward question: which planning system should you be preparing for? The Resource Management Act 1991 is still the operative law, its replacement has been reported back from select committee, and the transition will run for years.
Where the reform actually is
The Government has introduced two bills to replace the RMA. The Planning Bill deals with land use, development and infrastructure. The Natural Environment Bill deals with protecting ecosystems, freshwater, biodiversity, air quality and the coastal environment.
Public consultation closed in February 2026, and on 20 July 2026 Parliament’s Environment Committee reported both bills back, with a majority recommending the House proceed to second and third readings.
The Government has signalled passage around mid-2026, with national direction instruments delivered in two tranches — one by the end of 2026 and another in mid-2027 — and a phased move to a fully operational new system by around 2029.
The practical takeaway: the RMA governs your consent today, and will for some time. But a project with a long lead time will very likely be delivered under a different system than the one it was consented in, and transitional provisions will matter.
How consenting works now
Under the RMA, activities are classified by district and regional plans:
- Permitted — no consent needed if you comply with the stated conditions.
- Controlled — consent required, and the council must grant it, but may impose conditions on specified matters.
- Restricted discretionary — consent required, with council discretion limited to specified matters.
- Discretionary — full discretion to grant or decline.
- Non-complying — consent required and subject to threshold tests that are difficult to satisfy.
- Prohibited — no consent can be applied for.
Land use consents come from the territorial authority, and consents for water take, discharge and coastal activity come from the regional council. Many projects need both, from two different bodies, on different timelines.
Notification is the fork in the road
Whether an application is processed non-notified, limited notified or publicly notified determines cost and duration more than anything else.
Non-notified applications have statutory processing timeframes measured in working days. Publicly notified applications involve submissions, potentially a hearing, and the possibility of appeal to the Environment Court — a process measured in months or years.
Notification turns on the scale of adverse effects and whether affected persons have given written approval. Obtaining written approvals from neighbours before lodging is frequently the highest-value work on a marginal application, and it is worth doing properly rather than as an afterthought.
The section 92 clock stop
As with building consents, the statutory processing clock stops when the council requests further information. Applications lodged incomplete accumulate elapsed time that is experienced as council delay but is generated by the application.
Pre-application meetings are available at most councils, cost relatively little, and consistently reduce total time.
What to do given the uncertainty
- Do not wait for the new system. Consents granted under the RMA will be given effect to; deferring a project for a regime that is years from full operation is usually the more expensive choice.
- Check consent lapse periods. Consents lapse if not given effect to within the stated period, commonly five years. Watch this in a transitional environment.
- Watch national direction. The national instruments due at the end of 2026 and mid-2027 will affect what plans must provide for, and may change the position for particular activity types before the full system arrives.
- Engage a planner early for anything beyond a straightforward permitted activity. The cost of planning advice at feasibility is small relative to a declined or notified application.
Where to follow it
The Ministry for the Environment publishes reform material and national direction consultation under an open licence. Parliament publishes the bills, select committee reports and Hansard, and those texts carry no copyright under section 27 of the Copyright Act, so they can be quoted and relied on directly.
Commercial law firms publish useful summaries, but for anything you are going to act on, read the bill or the committee report itself — the reform has moved often enough that secondary commentary dates quickly.
General information only, not legal or planning advice. This area is changing — confirm the current position before acting.
