What the New Planning System Will Mean for Future Developments

The Government has now released the two Bills that will eventually replace the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), signalling the biggest shake-up to New Zealand’s planning system in more than 30 years. For anyone looking to build, subdivide or develop land, the changes are significant and will gradually reshape how projects are designed, assessed and approved.

The new system splits the old RMA into two separate Acts: the Planning Act, which focuses on land-use planning and development, and the Natural Environment Act, which manages environmental effects such as water quality, biodiversity and discharges. The idea is to make planning a lot clearer—development matters sit in one place, and environmental matters sit in another. For applicants, this should reduce overlap and help make it easier to understand what rules apply to your project.

One of the biggest shifts is that fewer activities will need a resource consent. Under the RMA, councils could regulate almost any effect, from shading and visual amenity through to reverse sensitivity and the “look and feel” of development. The new system narrows this down to a defined list of effects that can be regulated, which means activities with low or internal effects are more likely to be treated as “permitted” and won’t need a consent at all. This includes many small-scale residential projects and common farm activities that currently trigger paperwork.

For developments that still need consent, the process is expected to be much faster and more predictable. Under the RMA, applications could be delayed by completeness checks, further information requests, or decisions about notification. These steps aren’t disappearing entirely, but they are being tightened up. Councils will only be able to request information that is “necessary and proportionate,” and only effects that fall within the new framework can be considered. This means fewer reports, fewer delays, and fewer surprise issues after an application is lodged.

Another major change is around notification. Under the RMA, deciding whether a consent should be notified often involved complex judgement calls about who might be affected and to what degree. The new system will rely much more on national standards, meaning the default will be non-notified unless a proposal has clear, significant environmental risks. For most routine developments, this will remove a lot of uncertainty and reduce the risk of costly hearings.

Conditions on consents are also expected to become more focused and practical. Councils will need to show that any condition is directly linked to an identified effect and is proportionate to the scale of the project. This shift aims to prevent over-reaching conditions and keep compliance requirements reasonable.

For communities, this means development should happen faster in areas identified for growth, supported by new regional spatial plans that map out future housing, infrastructure and transport corridors. For applicants and property owners, the changes should mean a clearer, less burdensome pathway to getting projects underway.

Although the new system won’t fully replace the RMA for several years, it’s worth keeping an eye on how these reforms progress. They signal a planning environment that is more enabling, more streamlined, and more focused on practical effects, something many developers and landowners will welcome.