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Resource Management Act 1991

Declarations, enforcement, and ancillary powers - Offences

339: Penalties

You could also call this:

"What happens if you break the rules: fines and punishments"

Illustration for Resource Management Act 1991

If you break the rules in the Resource Management Act, you can get in trouble. You might have to pay a fine or go to prison. The amount you have to pay or the time you have to spend in prison depends on what you did.

If you are a person, you can get a fine of up to $1,000,000 or go to prison for up to 18 months. If you are not a person, like a company, you can get a fine of up to $10,000,000. You can also get a fine of up to $10,000 for each day you keep doing something wrong.

If you do something wrong that is against section 338(2), you can get a fine of up to $10,000. If you keep doing it, you can get another fine of up to $1,000 for each day. If you do something wrong that is against section 338(3), you can get a fine of up to $1,500.

A court can also make you do community work if you break the rules. The court can look at the Sentencing Act 2002 to decide what to do. If you are found guilty, the court can make you pay a fine, go to prison, or do both.

The court can also make other orders, like the ones in section 314. If your offence is about a resource consent, the court can order the consent authority to review it. This can happen if you did something wrong that goes against your consent, and the court is looking at section 128(2).

If you keep doing something wrong, it is considered a continuing offence. This means you can get in more trouble for each day you keep doing it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM239042.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal lawEnvironment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Town planning
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338: Offences against this Act, or

"Breaking the Resource Management Act rules is against the law"

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Part 12Declarations, enforcement, and ancillary powers
Offences

339Penalties

  1. Every person who commits an offence against section 338(1), (1A), or (1B) is liable on conviction,—

  2. in the case of a natural person, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months or a fine not exceeding $1,000,000:
    1. in the case of a person other than a natural person, to a fine not exceeding $10,000,000.

      1. Every person who commits an offence against section 338(1), (1A), or (1B) is also liable on conviction, if the offence is a continuing one, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues.

      2. Every person who commits an offence against section 338(2) is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000, and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues.

      3. Every person who commits an offence against section 338(3) is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,500.

      4. A court may sentence any person who commits an offence against this Act to a sentence of community work, and the provisions of Part 2 of the Sentencing Act 2002, with all necessary modifications, apply accordingly.

      5. If a person is convicted of an offence against section 338, the court may, instead of or in addition to imposing a fine or a term of imprisonment, make 1 or more of the following orders:

      6. the orders specified in section 314:
        1. an order requiring a consent authority to serve notice, under section 128(2), of the review of a resource consent held by the person, but only if the offence involves an act or omission that contravenes the consent.

          1. The continued existence of anything, or the intermittent repetition of any actions, contrary to any provision of this Act shall be deemed to be a continuing offence.

          Notes
          • Section 339(1): replaced, on , by section 139(1) of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
          • Section 339(1)(a): amended, on , by section 81(1) of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 41).
          • Section 339(1)(a): amended, on , by section 81(2) of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 41).
          • Section 339(1)(b): amended, on , by section 81(3) of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 41).
          • Section 339(1A): inserted, on , by section 139(1) of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
          • Section 339(2): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
          • Section 339(3): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
          • Section 339(4): replaced, on , by section 186 of the Sentencing Act 2002 (2002 No 9).
          • Section 339(5): replaced, on , by section 139(2) of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).