Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Provision of water services: operational matters - Accessing land to carry out water services infrastructure work - General requirements

167: Reviewer’s determination

You could also call this:

"The reviewer's decision: what happens when someone decides about work on your land"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

When you are dealing with a reviewer, they can make a decision about what happens on your land. They can agree with the land owner, or they can override the land owner's decision and let the work proceed with conditions or without conditions. They can also change conditions that the land owner has set.

If the land owner does not respond to a notice within 30 working days, the reviewer can decide if the work can go ahead and set conditions for it. The reviewer has 20 working days to make a decision, as stated in section 165(1), or their silence means they agree with the land owner. If they do not make a decision in this time, you are considered to have agreed with the land owner.

After the reviewer makes a decision, they must tell you and the land owner what they have decided and why, within 5 working days. However, there are some situations where this does not apply, which are set out in section 166(3). The reviewer will let you know their decision and the reasons for it in writing.

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This page was last updated on 31 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1446334.

Topics:

Housing and property > Land use

166: When parties do not participate, or

"What happens if someone doesn't take part in a review about water services"

168: Appeal against internal review determination, or

"Challenging a decision about work on your land: how to appeal"

Part 3Provision of water services: operational matters
Accessing land to carry out water services infrastructure work: General requirements

167Reviewer’s determination

A reviewer may—
confirm the position taken by the owner of the land; or
if the owner declined consent, set aside the owner’s decision and replace it with a determination that the entry and work may proceed—
1. subject to reasonable conditions specified by the reviewer; or
2. unconditionally; or
if the owner imposed conditions,—
1. vary those conditions; or
2. remove those conditions; or
3. substitute new conditions; or
if the owner did not respond to the provider’s notice within 30 working days,—
1. determine whether the entry and work may proceed (in a case where the owner’s consent is required); and
2. specify reasonable conditions in relation to the entry and work.

If the reviewer does not complete the review within the 20 working days specified in section 165(1), the reviewer is taken to have confirmed the position taken by the owner of the land.
The reviewer must, as soon as practicable (but not more than 5 working days) after completing the review, notify the provider and the owner of the land in writing of—
the reviewer’s determination; and
the reasons for that determination.

This section does not apply in the circumstances set out in section 166(3).