Planning Bill
The Planning Bill was introduced on 9 December 2025. The purpose of the Bill is to enable development and regulate how land is used.
The purpose of the Planning Bill is to establish a framework for planning and regulating the use, development and enjoyment of land.
The Bill aims to:
- ensure we plan well for growth
- make planning simpler and more certain
- remove barriers, enabling landowners agency over their property
- cut red tape
- reduce natural hazard risks
- give more certainty about how Māori interests are provided for.
Goals in the Bill set out what the system must achieve and what can be regulated. The Planning Bill goals are to:
- Ensure that land use does not unreasonably affect others, including by separating incompatible land uses.
- Support and enable economic growth and change by enabling the use and development of land.
- Create well-functioning urban and rural areas.
- Enable competitive urban land markets by making land available for development to meet current and expected demand for business, residential use, and development.
- Plan and provide for infrastructure to meet current and expected demand.
- Maintain public access to and along the coastal marine area, lakes and rivers.
- Protect from inappropriate development the identified values and characteristics of:
- areas of high natural character within the coastal environment, wetlands, lakes, rivers and their margins
- outstanding natural features and landscapes
- significant historic heritage.
- Safeguard communities from the effects of natural hazards through proportionate and risk-based planning.
- Provide for Māori interests through:
- Māori participation in the development of national instruments, spatial planning, and land use plans
- the identification and protection of sites of significance to Māori (including, wāhi tapu, water bodies, or sites in or on the coastal marine area)
- enabling the development and protection of identified Māori land.
Read our overview of the new system and fact sheets that outline what the new system means for New Zealanders.
Better planning for a better New Zealand: Overview of the new planning system
The New Planning System: What it means for Māori interests and Treaty settlements
The New Planning System: Protecting the Environment
The New Planning System: Making it easier to build and renovate your home
The New Planning System: Simplifying residential development
The New Planning System: Delivering the infrastructure we need
The New Planning System: Backing our primary sector
The New Planning System: Increasing certainty for the marine sector
The New Planning System: Role of local government
The New Planning System: Stronger direction and a plan for getting there
The New Planning System: Transitioning into the New Planning System
The New Planning System: Regulatory relief in the New Planning System
Resource management consent data report
Economic reports
Economic impact analysis of the proposed resource management reforms
Economic benefits of effective resource management
Unlocking the benefits of environmental data for resource management reform
Economic efficiency assessment for a new planning and environmental management system
Minister media releases
Read Minister media releases about the new planning system:
A better planning system for a better New Zealand (Beehive website)
Planning overhaul to unlock growth (Beehive website)
RMA replacement to reduce costs and drive on-farm growth (Beehive website)
Planning reform to unlock growth (Beehive website)
Cutting red tape to deliver the infrastructure New Zealand needs (Beehive website)
Boosting renewable energy through planning reform (Beehive website)
New system to make planning easier for everyone (Beehive website)