Landmark changes arrive with the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill in major resource management reform

On 9 December, Government introduced the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill (Bills), marking significant reform of New Zealand’s resource management system. These Bills will replace the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).

The Bills are scheduled for their First Reading in the week of 15 December and will then be referred to the Environment Select Committee, where the closing date for submissions will be confirmed. The Government intends for the Bills to be enacted by mid-2026.

Purpose and Structure of the New System

The reform introduces two distinct pieces of legislation that are intended to work together in an integrated way:

• Planning Act – Focused on land use planning and regulation to enable development and enjoyment of land.
• Natural Environment Act – Aimed at protecting and enhancing the natural environment by managing the impacts of resource use.

The Government describes the new framework as a “funnel approach”, delivering clearer comprehensive national direction (top of the funnel) and reducing complexity, inconsistency and the need to reinvent the wheel at the local level.

Key intended features of the framework include:

• Reduction in scope of effects to be managed
• Fewer consents required
• Fewer plans

Planning Bill Overview

The Planning Bill introduces:

• National Policy Direction and Standards – Setting goals and providing consistency in plan structure and monitoring.
• Combined Regional Plans – Each region will have one plan incorporating a 30-year Regional Spatial Plan, a Natural Environment Plan, and district-level Land Use Plans.
• Consenting Changes – Fewer activities will require consent; non-complying and controlled activity status will be removed. Notification will only be if effects are more than minor, and will only be publicly notified if all affected parties cannot be identified.

Natural Environment Bill Overview

The Natural Environment Bill focuses on environmental limits and resource allocation:

• Environmental Limits – Human health limits set nationally; ecosystem health limits set regionally.
• Natural Environment Plans – Integrated into regional plans.
• Allocation Systems – May include market-based approaches such as auctions or tenders.

Replacement of RMA Part 2 with ‘System Goals’

Both Bills prescribe ‘system goals’ that planning instruments must achieve:

• Planning Act Goals – land use to not unreasonably affect others; enable growth and competitive land markets; well-functioning urban/rural areas; plan and provide for infrastructure; maintain public access to water bodies; protect areas of high natural character of the coastal environment and water bodies and their margins, outstanding natural features and landscapes and significant historic heritage; safeguard communities from natural hazards; and provide for Māori interests.
• Natural Environment Act Goals – Enable resource use within limits; safeguard life supporting capacity; protect human health; achieve no net loss of biodiversity; manage effects of natural hazards; provide for Māori interests.

Key Changes to Scope and Consenting

Certain effects will not be considered or controlled under either plans or consenting decisions, including:

• Internal and external building layout; negative effects on trade competitors; retail distribution effects; project viability; visual amenity; types of residential use and social and economic status of future residents; private views; effects on (non ONL) landscape; and precedent effects.

Areas for management that remain in scope include:

• Areas of high natural character of the coastal environment and water bodies and their margins; outstanding natural landscapes and features; significant historic heritage; sites of significance to Māori and natural hazard impacts.

Offsetting and compensation for adverse effects are built into the new Acts, and effects less than minor cannot be considered.

Transitional regime

There will be a long lead in time for the full systems change, with a sequence of national direction instruments by end 2026, then the regional spatial plans likely mid – end 2027, followed by the land use plans and natural environment plans – all done at the regional scale.   The estimate is the full new system will be in place by 2029.

For that transitional period the RMA (as amended by the Bills) will remain in place as will district and regional plans, and there will effectively be a hybrid system, with each new national instrument being progressively introduced and gradually changing the planning framework at that level.

For that transitional period consenting will continue under the current plans and RMA, but some of the blocks to consenting will be removed.  The initial blocks will be removed by amendments to the RMA contained in the Bill, and additional ‘national transition rules’ will be introduced. The Bill proposes additions to section 104 that effectively replicate the changes to scope detailed above – meaning those matters that are identified as out of scope will not be able to be considered for consent applications, once the Bills pass into law.

Want to know more?

Further detail on key features of the Bills will follow.

If you have any questions about the Natural Environment and Planning Bills, please contact our specialist Environment, planning and natural resources team.