Late last year the Government announced its intention to make targeted updates to twelve national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to simplify and clarify their application, along with a proposal to introduce four new National Policy Statements (NPS).

The Government has now released the following three proposal ‘packages’ – relating to infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater – and invited the public to provide feedback to inform the proposals. These packages will affect all sectors of our economy. 

The packages are open for consultation until Sunday, 27 July 2025.

Package 1 – Infrastructure and Development 

This package includes:

• two new NPS for Infrastructure and Natural Hazards;
• two new National Environmental Standards (NES) for Papakāinga and Granny Flats; 
• amendments to the NPS for Renewable Electricity Generation; 
• amendments to the NPS and NES for Electricity Transmission (which are to be renamed Electricity Networks); and 
• amendments to the NES for Telecommunication Facilities.

Package 2 – Primary Sector

This package includes:

• amendments to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS), NPS for Highly Productive Land, NES for Commercial Forestry and Marine Aquaculture, and the Stock Exclusion Regulations; and
• amendments are also proposed to various instruments as they apply to quarrying and mining operations – including to the NPS for Indigenous Biodiversity, Freshwater Management and Highly Productive Land, and the NES for Freshwater. 

Package 3 – Freshwater

This package includes a broader review of the NPS for Freshwater Management and NES for Freshwater. Notably, consultation will be undertaken on whether these reforms should be delivered under the current RMA or proposed replacement legislation. 

Our ten key takeaways from the first three proposal packages are:

• The operation, renewal, maintenance and development of infrastructure is proposed to be better enabled through a new overarching NPS for Infrastructure: Key infrastructure is set to be enabled under a new NPS for Infrastructure, which will apply to transport, three waters, hospitals, schools, waste disposal facilities, fire and emergency service facilities, defence and correctional facilities. It will not apply to renewable energy generation and transmission as these are covered by other NPS and NES. The NPS is proposed to include an overall objective which sets out infrastructure outcomes that planning decisions will contribute to, and associated policies to support the planning for infrastructure and its efficient and timely delivery.
• Councils are to take a risk-based approach to managing hazard risks: A new NPS for Natural Hazards will require councils to consider hazard risks for new developments (excluding primary production and infrastructure (as defined in the RMA)). This will require Councils to assess the likelihood of a natural hazard occurring, the consequences of the event, the existing or proposed mitigation measures and any residual risk. The proposed NPS proposes a matrix to establish a nationally consistent base definition for when a risk is significant – identified as ‘medium’, ‘high’, and ‘very high’ based on likelihood and consequence. Councils may build on this to be more risk adverse, but cannot be more risk tolerant. 
• Greater consideration will be given to the operational needs of certain activities, as well as their functional need: There is a clear policy change across a number of the instruments which provides for a greater focus on the operational needs of certain activities (as well as their functional need to be located in certain environments). For example, the NZCPS “functional need” test is proposed to be expanded to a “functional or operational need” test which will require decision-makers to consider technical, logistical or operational arguments for locating infrastructure in coastal areas. A similar policy is proposed to be introduced into the NPS for Infrastructure and Electricity Transmission which will require decision-makers to recognise and provide for the operational or functional need of infrastructure to operate in, be located in, or traverse particular environments. 
• New provisions are proposed to support renewable energy generation and energy networks: A proposed new policy in the NPS for Renewable Energy Generation (REG) supports the reconsenting, upgrading and repowering of existing REG assets. It does this by requiring decision makers to have particular regard to the efficiencies and environmental benefits of increasing REG output within the same or similar environmental footprint, and to only consider the extent to which the effects of the proposed REG are different in scale, intensity, duration and frequency from the existing activity. Likewise, a proposed new policy in the NPS Electricity Transmission provides that decision makers when considering environmental effects of electricity network activities must (along with other matters) recognise that changes in amenity are unavoidable. 
• A green light will be given for greenfield development on land previously considered to be highly productive: Amendments are proposed to the NPS for Highly Productive Land (NPS:HP) to remove ‘LUC 3 land’ (being land that is arable with moderate limitations) to no longer be ‘highly productive’ and therefore not subject to controls under the NPS:HP. LUC 3 land makes up approximately 64% of the land area currently protected under the NPS:HP, so this will potentially open significant areas up for development. Feedback is also sought on the introduction of ‘special agricultural areas’ to capture areas that are regionally or nationally significant for food and fibre production but may be compromised by the removal of LUC 3 land. 
• Priority projects to be enabled in the coastal marine area: It is proposed that the language in the NZCPS be amended to be more directive and better enable the use and development of the coastal environment for ‘priority activities’ being aquaculture, resource extraction, specified infrastructure, electricity transmission and renewable electricity generation. 
• The consenting pathway for mining and quarrying in sensitive environments will be clarified: Current national direction documents provide consenting pathways for quarrying and mining activities that adversely affect significant natural areas, wetlands and highly productive land, in some cases. However, the Government has identified inconsistencies between instruments in the language used, the gateway tests that apply and the consenting pathways generally. For example, the gateway test in the NPS for Indigenous Biodiversity and Highly Productive Land include a threshold for proving an activity is ‘beneficial’ – this threshold will be lowered so benefits do not need to be public but the activity needs to have regional benefits, overall. 
• The controversial definition of natural wetlands is open to amendment: It is proposed that the definition of ‘natural inland wetlands’ is amended to remove ‘induced wetlands’ (being wetlands that have development unintentionally as an outcome of human activity) so that these areas are not subject to the controls under the NPS for Freshwater Management and NES for Freshwater. Feedback is also being sought on removing the pasture exclusion from the definition of wetland, and instead permitting farming activities in and around wetlands that are unlikely to have an adverse effect on a wetland. These changes would likely result in a loosening of the consenting framework in respect of wetlands.
• Greater flexibility is proposed in the national framework for freshwater management: The National Objectives Framework in the NPS for Freshwater Management currently provides a consistent process for setting environmental limits at a catchment level. Feedback is being sought on allowing councils and communities more choice in setting environmental limits for their own catchments by identifying compulsory values, attributes and bottom lines but also optional ones.
• Future reforms will iron out conflict issues: Major tensions between the national direction will be addressed in the upcoming Resource Management Act reform, rather than through changes in these packages.

A fourth package of proposed changes to national direction under the RMA entitled “Going for Housing Growth’ has not yet been released but is expected later this month. This package will focus on freeing up land for development and will be jointly run by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry for the Environment. 

There will be no immediate requirement for councils to change their plans to give effect to the new and amended national direction once they take effect, but decision makers will need to consider them in relevant decision-making under the RMA. 

The current consultation period on the first three proposal packages (outlined above) is likely the only opportunity to have your say before the national direction instruments are finalised and take effect by the end of this year. 

Please reach out if you have any questions or would like more information on any of the proposals.