On 24 March 2025, Cabinet agreed to replace the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) with two new pieces of legislation; a “Planning Act” focused on regulating the use, development and enjoyment of land, along with a “Natural Environment Act” focused on the use, protection and enhancement of the natural environment. This is to be distinguished from the “Spatial Planning” and “Natural and Built Environment” Acts, which were both introduced by the previous Labour-led Government and subsequently repealed by the present administration just prior to Christmas 2023.
This proposal is the third phase of the Government’s three-phase plan to “reform” the RMA, as part of National’s election manifesto and its coalition agreement with ACT. It is also consistent with the ACT party’s intent to centre planning and environmental legislation around the enjoyment of property rights.
Cabinet’s decisions follow its consideration of a draft “Blueprint” to replace the RMA. That report was prepared by an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) established in September 2024, and was delivered to Ministers on 20 December 2024. The EAG’s work (and report) was based on ten objectives and principles for the new RMA system, as previously set by Cabinet.
Features of the proposed system
In its decision making, Cabinet has generally agreed with the recommendations received from the EAG. The key features of the proposed system, as now agreed by Cabinet, can be summarised as follows.
- Two new Acts: The rationale for having two Acts with distinct purposes is to clearly distinguish the legislative objectives and functions for land-use planning and natural resource management, with the intent of better enabling both functions to operate efficiently and effectively.
- Planning Act: The EAG Report proposed that the purpose statement for the Planning Act should be “to establish a framework for planning and regulating the use, development and enjoyment of land”. This would reflect the core principles of land-use law which is the need to protect a person’s use and enjoyment of their land and the prevention of unreasonable incursions from the use of land by other landowners, setting the parameters within which society agrees that land use should be constrained.
- Natural Environment Act: The EAG Report proposed that the purpose statement for the Natural Environment Act should be “to establish a framework for the use, protection and enhancement of the natural environment”. This purpose would prevent litigation such as the King Salmon line of decisions, which were required to confirm that section 5 of the RMA was not intended to be an operative provision of that Act (that is, a section that planning decisions are made under). Therefore, this purpose deliberately does not set principles or “bottom lines” that need to be adhered to, as the EAG did not consider conflicts between environmental protection and development can be resolved through a simple purpose statement. Rather, this should be the role of more detailed subsequent provisions, including those regarding environmental limits.
- A narrowed scope of the effects management system: The new system will be based on the economic concept of “externalities”. The current system defines “effect” very broadly, something which Cabinet believes has been exploited by councils and participants, leading to costs and delays. Therefore, effects that are borne solely by the party undertaking the activity will not be controlled by the new system (for example, interior building layouts or exterior aspects of buildings that have no impact on neighbouring properties). Consideration of both financial and trade competition effects will also continue to be explicitly excluded under the new system.
- Property rights: Both Acts will include starting presumptions that a land use is enabled, unless there is a significant enough impact on either the ability of others to use their own land or on the natural environment (compare this with section 9 of the RMA, which similarly enables all land use, unless that use is controlled by a national environmental standard or the rules in a regional or district plan). The EAG further proposed that the threshold for the materiality of effects management should be raised, recommending that the legislation explicitly not regulate less than minor effects, except where that is necessary to manage significant cumulative effects. It is hoped that this will reduce the scope of effects being regulated and (together with specifically expanding the range of permitted activities) enable more activities to be undertaken as of right. The new system will continue to protect lawfully established existing use rights, but now also provide the potential for the reasonable expansion of existing activities over time where the site is ‘zoned or owned’. Any departure from approaches to regulation standardised at the national level will require a regulatory justification report to be prepared and may trigger consideration as to whether compensation for regulatory taking is required.
- One set of national policy direction under each Act: The EAG has recommended that one set of mandatory national policy direction is issued under each of the new Acts (the same as would have been achieved via the National Planning Framework under the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023). This should be succinct and resolve conflicts between environmental protection and development and, where that is not possible, provide direction on how conflicts can be reconciled through subsequent processes. Cabinet agrees, believing this will simplify, streamline, and direct local government plans and decision-making under the new system. National Direction under the Natural Environment Act will cover freshwater, indigenous biodiversity and coastal policy. National Direction under the Planning Act will cover urban development, infrastructure (including renewable energy) and natural hazards.
- Environmental limits: Under the RMA, there is no specific legislative framework for environmental limits. The EAG considers this omission has created inconsistent terminology and approaches within and across different topic areas. It is proposed that having a clearer legislative basis (in the Natural Environment Act) for setting environmental limits for our natural environment will provide more certainty around where development can and should be enabled, whilst protecting the environment.
- Greater use of standardisation: Cabinet believes that nationally set standards, including standardised land use zones, will provide significant system benefits and efficiencies. It has therefore agreed that the new legislation will provide for greater standardisation, while still maintaining local decision making over the things that matter. To date, it is unclear how this will differ from the preparation and scope of National Planning Standards, something the Minister for the Environment is already empowered to undertake under the RMA. The first set of National Planning Standards (requiring the consistent use of zoning) have been in place since 2019.
- Spatial Plans: Each region will be required to have a spatial plan, focused on identifying sufficient future urban development areas, development areas that are being prioritised for public investment and existing and planned infrastructure corridors and strategic sites (the same as was previously required under the Spatial Planning Act 2023). By contrast, under the current system only Auckland is legislatively required to have a spatial plan. However, Tier 1 and Tier 2 local authorities are required to prepare a future development strategy (FDS) under the NPS-UD, which is a narrow type of spatial plan. The EAG Report identifies that this has caused significant variation in the approach to and quality of spatial planning across the country. There is also a lack of certainty that spatial plans will flow through into regulatory plans and central and local government investment decisions, as strategic decisions and major projects agreed through spatial planning can be relitigated which results in delays and additional costs.
- Streamlining of council plans: Cabinet has agreed to reduce the number of plans and policies in the system (again, essentially re-enacting part of the now repealed Natural and Built Environment Act 2023). A combined plan will include a spatial planning chapter, an environment chapter and planning chapters (one per territorial authority district) and could be achieved via an ‘e-plan’. Spatial plans will provide long-term, strategic direction to simplify and streamline the system. This will allow development within constraints, and better align land use, infrastructure planning, and investment.
- Strengthening environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement: To safeguard the environment, a national compliance regulator with a regional presence will be established – taking over a function currently done poorly by regional councils. The establishment of a new planning tribunal (in addition to retaining the existing Environment Court) will provide for faster and low-cost dispute resolution and lessen reliance on the courts. As yet, it is unclear whether the new legislation will re-introduce the comprehensive (and very useful) set of enforcement and compliance tools that had been enacted in the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023.
It is currently intended that the two new Acts be introduced into the House by the end of 2025. It remains to be seen whether that timing is feasible.
If you have any queries about how these proposed changes may impact you, please contact our office.