Your responsibilities under the RMA

If you want to undertake an activity that is controlled by the RMA, you may need to get a resource consent. If you have a consent, you must comply with any and all conditions imposed in that consent.

Even if you don’t need a resource consent, there will usually be rules or standards that you have to comply with to make sure your activity is legal.

If you don’t, you could be fined or prosecuted

It is an offence to break rules under the RMA unless you have a consent that allows you to do so. If you break the rules without having the proper consents, or you break the conditions imposed in your consent, you might be prosecuted and could receive a fine or even be sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

Everyone has to comply

The obligation to comply with rules under the RMA applies to everyone – that includes individuals, companies and businesses, trusts, clubs, and societies, and even central and local government entities and agencies.

Even if you didn’t mean to breach the rules, you may still be held accountable.

In addition, if someone working for you (for example, an employee or a contractor) breaches the rules, you might be held accountable as if you had breached the rules yourself.

Because of this, it’s important to do your best to find out about rules that might apply to you, and ensure anyone working for you understands them too.