The possible future of the RMA and what it means for the Queenstown Lakes District
Todd Walker insights into reform
A major development in the resource management world: the new Planning and Natural Environment Bills were introduced into Parliament on 9 December. Together, these new Bills are intended to replace the long-standing Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), ushering in a new environmental protection and resource management system.
The Planning Bill sets out how land can be used and developed. It aims to provide a framework for the use, development and enjoyment of land. Its goals include ensuring that land use does not unreasonably affect others, supporting and enabling economic growth and change, enabling the delivery of infrastructure, and making land available to meet demand for residential, business, and development needs.
The Natural Environment Bill is focused on managing the use of natural resources, while protecting, preserving, and enhancing the environment. It provides a framework to establish environmental limits for human and ecosystem health (for air, freshwater, coastal water, land and soils, and indigenous biodiversity) within which each region must operate. Human health limits will be set nationally, and ecosystem limits set by regional councils, although the government can specify a minimum level.
Under the new planning system, district and regional planning will be integrated with spatial planning and environmental plans to form a combined plan for each region. Spatial planning will become mandatory with each region required to produce a 30-year plan identifying growth areas, infrastructure corridors, and zones needing protection or environmental limits. Local councils in a region are to jointly prepare the regional spatial plans, with regional councils preparing natural environment plans and district councils preparing land-use plans.
Overall, the new system largely reflects recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group for reform published in March 2025 and pursues Government policy priorities to streamline growth and development, including with a new focus on the protection of enjoyment of property rights.
The RMA (with some modifications) will continue to apply after the new Bills are enacted until the new system is ‘live.’ This transitional consenting framework will apply from one month after Royal assent until the transitional period is ended by Order in Council. This will occur when a combined plan for all or specified regions have been notified. This transitional period will include some elements of the new Acts, including limitations on the scope of effects that may be considered. The government has signalled that they anticipate this transitional period lasting until at least 2028 /2029 to allow the new planning framework to be drafted and to come into force. To ensure existing or expiring consents remain current while the new system is developed, the government is also enacting another piece of legislation that extends the duration of specified consents under the RMA through to 31 December 2027.
Have we seen this reform already?
The new Bills show a similar overarching structure to Labour’s attempted replacement of the RMA in 2023, which was quickly repealed by the incumbent Coalition Government. We have also noticed a few familiar concepts and terminology of the existing RMA remain within the Planning and Natural Environment Bills. Other matters are, however, different - such as removal of amenity values, and the management of Māori connection to their ancestral lands, water, sites, waahi tapu, and other taonga, and kaitiakitanga.
Where this reform differs from the RMA (and the previous Labour replacement) is in its ‘development focus’ and priority of private property rights. The new system is described by the Government as intending to make it easier to get things done by unlocking development capacity, enabling the delivery of infrastructure, and enabling primary sector growth and development. There will likely be a higher threshold for adverse effects, meaning low impact activities may no longer requiring consent under the new system, or to the extent consent is required, will be given less consideration when considering such consents. Consistent with related themes of centralisation under announced local government reform, central government will also take on a broader and more active role in shaping and overseeing the new system.
Implications for Queenstown Lakes District (and wider Otago region)
As a rapidly growing region, where population growth, visitor numbers, and housing demand are high, the proposed changes will likely have significant implications for the District. This new planning framework will see the next phase of planning and strategy development for the Queenstown Lakes District, which is not yet finished its current plan review process under the RMA that commenced over 10 years ago. The Council will be required to prepare a combined regional plan with the wider Otago region, which will include a land-use plan for the District. The Council will be is expected to notify its land-use plan within 2.5 years of the legislation coming into force.
As your leading lawyers in Queenstown and Wānaka, we’ve provided our initial insights on the new Bills and their implications for the Queenstown Lakes District, and the wider Otago region:
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As the Council has been subject to a ‘plan stop’ in anticipation of this new system, where specified plan changes were required to be paused by the government, there are many areas within the District that have not yet been reviewed into the Proposed District Plan and may be somewhat out of date with national direction.
The ‘plan stop’ will be extended and apply during the transitional period for the new Bills to replace the RMA. As is currently the case, this does not appear to restrict progression of private plan changes continuing.
Many zones within our District are bespoke or ‘special’ zones, for example which relate to resort developments or amenity issues. The new system intends to streamline and nationally standardise zoning across land-use plans, and there is likely to be uncertainty in how such existing ‘non-standard’ and bespoke provisions will be recognised in spatial planning and included in new land-use plans – and the associated submission and appeal process for the same.
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Similarly to the RMA, the Planning Bill retains the ability for the Minister for the Environment to issue national policy direction. Overarching national policy direction must be implemented within the new combined regional plans.
Urban growth has been identified as a priority area by the current Government and underpins goals within the new Bills. The exact content of any national direction for urban development under the new system is currently unknown, but policy goals would likely be focussed on enabling growth and change and the provision of adequate infrastructure, in line with the goals outlined in the Planning Bill. The government has also consulted on reform of existing national direction earlier this year, including for urban development. This consultation has signalled that such reforms may include removal of urban growth boundaries, which would be a significant change for the District.
National instruments, providing national policy direction and national standards, will be the first documents to be produced under the new system and must be notified within nine months of the Bills being enacted.
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The new system significantly narrows the scope of effects that are subject to assessment and regulation under the RMA. As a result, visual amenity effects, private views, and subjective amenity effects relating to character are excluded. The exception is these exclusions do not restrict the management of outstanding natural landscapes and features, significant historic heritage, sites of significance to Māori, and areas of high natural character within the coastal environment, and wetlands, lakes, rivers and their margins.
During the transitional period, amenity effects will be excluded from assessment of consents processed under the RMA. This has the potential to create uncertainty for the processing and assessment of consents lodged within this period for this District, where many zones are linked to character and amenity, for instance, the Wakatipu Basin Rural Amenity Zone (WBRAZ). Amendments to the RMA will mean that some subjective amenity effects (for example, private views or effects on landscape) are excluded from assessing the effects of the proposal, but the Council will still have to grapple with objectives and policies of the WBRAZ in assessing the application. The shelf life of the WBRAZ may also be limited under the new planning framework which standardises zoning and removes concepts of visual amenity effects from consideration.
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An entirely new concept to the New Zealand planning system is the introduction of regulatory relief where certain planning controls (for example, protections relating to significant heritage, outstanding natural landscape, sites of significance to Māori, and areas of high natural character) are placed on private property and have a significant impact on the reasonable use of the land. The introduction of regulatory relief could have implications for potential deterrence of such overlays in the future planning phase.
A large portion of the District is currently protected in the Proposed District Plan by such overlays, for example, around 97% of the District is identified as outstanding natural landscape or features. Regulatory relief will mean that a private property owner may obtain some financial relief where new plans impose an overlay that restricts the use of the land. This may be via rates relief, development rights, consent fee waivers, land swaps, access to grants, and cash payments.
The Council will have some discretion developing a framework and determining appropriate relief, but decisions will be able to be challenged by landowners via a newly established Planning Tribunal.
Our concluding comments
Together, the new Bills stretch over 700 pages and will be subjected to debate, critique, and likely have many amendments prior to enactment. This is arguably the biggest reform to New Zealand’s planning and environmental laws in decades. For landowners, developers, primary industries, iwi, councils, and anyone interested in how land and resources are used or protected – these changes will fundamentally reshape planning, consenting, and environmental decision-making.
Whether the system will be enduring, or achieve the promised outcomes, only time will tell. The Bills will have their First Reading next week, and then be referred to the Environment Select Committee, when the closing date for submissions will be advised. The Government has signalled it intends for the Bills to become law in mid-2026; however, this may be an unrealistic goal given the extent of the proposed reform.
We will be following the reform closely. If you would like to know more about the proposed reform, implications for the District, and how to get involved in the legislative process, get in touch with our Resource Management Team at enquiries@toddwalker.com or +64 (03) 441 2743.