Resource Management (Duration of Consents) Amendment Bill

The Government is replacing the RMA with a new planning system that delivers on its commitment to unlock infrastructure and housing development, support New Zealand’s primary industries and drive significant growth while protecting what is important.

This Bill provides a temporary mechanism to address the following situations:

• resource consents set to expire before RMA replacement legislation is enacted, and 
• resource consents that have recently expired, where a replacement application has been made but not yet determined.

Without intervention, replacement applications for these consents would need to be made and processed under the RMA. Concerns have been raised this would lead to unnecessary administrative burden and costs for consent holders.

This Bill extends these consents until 31 December 2027, by which time it is intended that RMA replacement legislation will have established longer-term arrangements (with the benefit of input from the Select Committee process).

• Resource consents that would otherwise expire before 31 December 2027 are automatically extended until that date.  
• Consents that have recently expired, where an application for a replacement consent has been made under section 124 of the RMA but not yet determined, are reinstated and extended until 31 December 2027.  
• Resource consents that relate to water  are excluded from extension beyond a total duration of 35 years. 
• Wastewater consents that have already been extended under sections 139C or 139D of the RMA are excluded from extension of reinstatement.

The Bill provisions will take effect the day after the Bill receives Royal Assent.

For consent holders

No action is required from consent holders for the extension or reinstatement to apply. Consent holders still have the option to apply for new consents, or to continue to progress their existing applications under the current RMA if they wish to do so.

Where an application for a replacement consent has already been lodged, the consent authority must continue to process it unless the applicant formally withdraws it. The applicant may choose to withdraw their application at any stage before a decision is issued and elect to rely on the existing consent, with its extended expiry date.  

It is important that any consent holders or applicants for replacement consents consider whether their consents are water-related, as this may affect whether the extension applies.

For consent authorities

Consent authorities will be required to update their records within 6 months to reflect the new expiry dates.  

We recommend that consent authorities inform affected consent holders and applicants as soon as practicable about these changes. This will help ensure that applicants make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary costs.  

Given that there are exclusions for some water-related consents, it is recommended that consent authorities also proactively contact those consent holders who will be excluded to inform them of this. This should apply to all water-related transitional consents¹ — for example, those due to expire on 1 October 2026 — as well as any other relevant consents that fall within the exclusion criteria.

We also recommend that councils reach out to any parties who have been notified of replacement applications and inform them that:

• the consent has been reinstated with a new expiry date
• it is up to the applicant if they continue with processing of their replacement application, or withdraw it
• the Council will inform any notified parties if the application is withdrawn. 

¹ This is intended to include deemed ‘resource consents’ in the RMA, like those carried over from other legislation such as Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967.