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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.”
You could also call this:

“Rules for reviewing local plans are changing for a short time”

For a short time, some rules are changing about how local authorities review their plans and policies. These changes started when a new law came into effect and will end on 30 September 2024.

During this time, you can start reviewing parts of your regional policy statements, regional plans, or district plans whenever you want. But if you were supposed to review something before this new rule started, you must begin that review by 30 September 2024 at the latest.

The date when these temporary rules began is called the ‘commencement date’. This is when Schedule 3 of the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Act 2021 started working.

On 1 October 2024, these temporary rules will stop working, and things will go back to how they were before.

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Next up: 79A: Circumstance when further review required

or “When you might need to look at something again after it has already been checked”
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Part 5 Standards, policy statements, and plans
Local authority policy statements and plans: Review

79AAApplication of temporary provisions in respect of section 79

  1. The temporary provisions set out in subsections (2) and (3) apply instead of section 79(1) during the period—

  2. beginning on the commencement date; and
    1. ending with the close of 30 September 2024.

      1. A local authority may commence a review of a provision of any of the following documents it has:

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

            1. However, any review of a provision that would have taken place under section 79(1) (as it read immediately before the commencement date) if it had not been temporarily suspended must be commenced no later than the close of 30 September 2024.

            2. In this section, commencement date means the date on which Schedule 3 of the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Act 2021 comes into force.

            3. This section is repealed on 1 October 2024.

            Notes
            • Section 79AA: inserted, on , by Schedule 3 clause 10 of the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 42).