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78A: Combined regional and district documents
or “Rules that used to cover both big and small areas in one document are no longer used.”
You could also call this:

“Local councils must check and update their plans and rules every ten years to make sure they're still good.”

You need to review parts of policy statements and plans every 10 years. If you haven’t looked at a part in the last 10 years, you must review it. This applies to regional policy statements, regional plans, and district plans.

After you review a part, if you think it needs to be changed, you have to propose changes following the rules in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1. Even if you don’t think it needs changes, you still have to tell people about it as if it were a change.

You can also choose to review a whole policy statement or plan at any time. When you do this, you need to look at all parts of it, no matter when they were last changed.

If you review a whole statement or plan and think it needs changes, you have to make those changes following the rules in Parts 1, 4, or 5 of Schedule 1. If you don’t think it needs changes, you still have to tell people about it as if it were a new policy statement or plan.

Just because a part of a policy statement or plan is being reviewed, it doesn’t mean it stops working. It keeps going until any changes are made.

You have to do these reviews in addition to keeping an eye on things as required by section 35.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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: 79A: Local authority not required to commence full plan review after Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 receives Royal assent

or “Councils don't have to start a big review of their plans when a new law about the environment is approved.”
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Part 5 Standards, 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.

                      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).