Page 34 - English-DBINZ brochure-2019

31 Doing business in New Zealand

Environmental and planning law

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991
The principal environmental and planning legislation in New Zealand is the Resource Management Act
1991. The purpose of the Resource Management Act is to promote the sustainable management of
natural and physical resources.
The Resource Management Act covers all use and development of natural and physical resources
including land, water, the coast and air resources. The Resource Management Act focuses on managing
the adverse effects of activities on the environment. Every person has a general duty to avoid, remedy
or mitigate any adverse effect on the environment arising from any activity. Controls on development
are set out in publicly notified statutory planning documents, administered by local authorities called
regional councils or territorial authorities (city and district councils). A range of activities may require
resource consents in the form of land use and subdivision consents, and coastal, water and discharge
permits under the Resource Management Act.
The Resource Management Act has a range of penalty and enforcement provisions. There are specific
provisions under which directors and senior managers of a company may be found personally responsible
for the acts or omissions of the company.

RESOURCE CONSENTS

Generally, all activities must be permitted under the relevant district/regional plan or authorised by
a resource consent granted by the relevant consent authority. Resource consents include land use
consents, subdivision consents, water permits, coastal permits and discharge permits. Existing use
rights are given some legal protection to continue where new rules requiring that consent be obtained
are introduced.
District and regional plans classify activities into a range of activity types and this classification
determines when resource consents are required. Activities range from permitted activities, which can
be carried on without consent, to controlled, discretionary and non-complying activities, for which
consents must be obtained. Some activities may be prohibited altogether.

District plans control the use of land. Most district plans divide land within the district into zones with
different controls on various land uses within each zone. Regional plans control the use of water and
discharges of contaminants into the environment.
The Resource Management Act sets out detailed provisions regarding the resource consent application
process. An application must include comprehensive information assessing the environmental effects of
the proposal.
Depending on the type of activity, the application may proceed without public notification, on a publicly
notified basis, or with limited notification to affected parties only. If an application is publicly notified,
any person may make a submission against or in support of the application and has a right to appeal the
consent authority’s decision to the Environment Court.

Special procedures exist for proposals considered to be nationally significant. The Minister for the
Environment (and/or the Minister of Conservation, for proposals relating partly or wholly to the coastal
marine area) may direct that such a proposal be considered in the first instance by the Environment
Court or a specially appointed Board of Inquiry (with appeals to the High Court on points of law only).