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Resource Management Act 1991

Standards, policy statements, and plans - Local authority policy statements and plans - Review

79: Review of policy statements and plans

You could also call this:

"Local councils must check and update their important plans every 10 years to ensure they are still working well."

Illustration for Resource Management Act 1991

If you are a local authority, you must review some of your documents every 10 years. These documents are called regional policy statements, regional plans, and district plans. You have to check if they need to be changed.

When you review these documents, you must follow the rules set out in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1 and this Part. If you think a document needs to be changed, you must propose the changes. If you do not think it needs to be changed, you still have to tell the public about it.

You can also review these documents at any time, not just every 10 years. When you do a full review, you have to look at the whole document, not just the parts that have changed recently. If you think the document needs to be changed after a full review, you must make the changes according to the rules. If you do not think it needs to be changed, you still have to tell the public about it, as if you were proposing a new document.

Remember, just because a document is being reviewed, it does not stop being in effect. As a local authority, you also have to monitor your documents, as required by section 35. Some of these review rules do not apply until 31 December 2027.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM233814.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Town planningGovernment and voting > Local councils
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Part 5Standards, policy statements, and plans
Local authority policy statements and plans: Review

79Review of policy statements and plans

  1. A local authority must commence a review of a provision of any of the following documents it has, if the provision has not been a subject of a proposed policy statement or plan, a review, or a change by the local authority during the previous 10 years:

  2. a regional policy statement:
    1. a regional plan:
      1. a district plan.

        1. If, after reviewing the provision, the local authority considers that it requires alteration, the local authority must, in the manner set out in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1 and this Part, propose to alter the provision.

        2. If, after reviewing the provision, the local authority considers that it does not require alteration, the local authority must still publicly notify the provision—

        3. as if it were a change; and
          1. in the manner set out in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1 and this Part.

            1. Without limiting subsection (1), a local authority may, at any time, commence a full review of any of the following documents it has:

            2. a regional policy statement:
              1. a regional plan:
                1. a district plan.

                  1. In carrying out a review under subsection (4), the local authority must review all the sections of, and all the changes to, the policy statement or plan regardless of when the sections or changes became operative.

                  2. If, after reviewing the statement or plan under subsection (4), the local authority considers that it requires alteration, the local authority must alter the statement or plan in the manner set out in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1 and this Part.

                  3. If, after reviewing the statement or plan under subsection (4), the local authority considers that it does not require alteration, the local authority must still publicly notify the statement or plan—

                  4. as if it were a proposed policy statement or plan; and
                    1. in the manner set out in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1 and this Part.

                      1. A provision of a policy statement or plan, or the policy statement or plan, as the case may be, does not cease to be operative because the provision, statement, or plan is due for review or is being reviewed under this section.

                      2. The obligations on a local authority under this section are in addition to its duty to monitor under section 35.

                      3. On and after the commencement of this subsection, subsections (1) and (4) cease to apply until 31 December 2027.

                      Notes
                      • Section 79: replaced, on , by section 64 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
                      • Section 79(2): amended, on , by section 63(1) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                      • Section 79(3)(b): amended, on , by section 63(2) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                      • Section 79(6): amended, on , by section 63(3) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                      • Section 79(7)(b): amended, on , by section 63(4) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                      • Section 79(10): inserted, on , by section 19 of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 41).