Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

 Plain Language Law homepage
Back to
34: Delegation of functions, etc, by local authorities
or “Local councils can give some of their jobs to smaller groups to help them get things done.”
You could also call this:

“Rules for giving local council jobs to workers and other people”

A local authority can give some of its powers and duties under this law to its employees or special people called hearings commissioners. However, they can’t give away the power to approve policy statements or plans, or the power to give these powers to others.

If a local authority wants to choose hearings commissioners to run a hearing, they need to talk to the local Māori groups. They should ask if it’s a good idea to pick someone who understands Māori customs and what the local Māori think. If they decide it’s a good idea, they must choose at least one person like this after talking to the Māori groups.

The local authority can also give some powers to other people, but not the ones mentioned earlier. They also can’t give away the power to decide on resource consent applications or to make recommendations about designations.

The rules in Section 34(7), (8), (9), and (10) also apply when giving these powers to others.

Even though the local authority can’t give away the final decision on some matters, they can still let someone else do things before the final decision is made.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

Next up: 35: Duty to gather information, monitor, and keep records

or “Local councils must collect, track, and save information about the environment and their work to help people understand and take part in looking after their area.”
Next

Part 4 Functions, powers, and duties of central and local government
Functions, powers, and duties of local authorities

34ADelegation of powers and functions to employees and other persons

  1. A local authority may delegate to an employee, or hearings commissioner appointed by the local authority (who may or may not be a member of the local authority), any functions, powers, or duties under this Act except the following:

  2. the approval of a proposed policy statement or plan under clause 17 of Schedule 1:
    1. this power of delegation.

      1. If a local authority is considering appointing 1 or more hearings commissioners to exercise a delegated power to conduct a hearing under Part 1 or 5 of Schedule 1,—

      2. the local authority must consult tangata whenua through relevant iwi authorities on whether it is appropriate to appoint a commissioner with an understanding of tikanga Māori and of the perspectives of local iwi or hapū; and
        1. if the local authority considers it appropriate, it must appoint at least 1 commissioner with an understanding of tikanga Māori and of the perspectives of local iwi or hapū, in consultation with relevant iwi authorities.

          1. A local authority may delegate to any other person any functions, powers, or duties under this Act except the following:

          2. the powers in subsection (1)(a) and (b):
            1. the decision on an application for a resource consent:
              1. the making of a recommendation on a requirement for a designation.

                1. Repealed

                2. Section 34(7), (8), (9), and (10) applies to a delegation under this section.

                3. Subsection (1) or subsection (2) does not prevent a local authority delegating to any person the power to do anything before a final decision on a matter referred to in those subsections.

                Notes
                • Section 34A: inserted, on , by section 14 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 23).
                • Section 34A(1)(a): replaced, on , by section 28 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
                • Section 34A(1A): inserted, on , by section 17 of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                • Section 34A(3): repealed, on , by section 14 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 87).