When you apply for a planning consent that involves a wastewater network, the consent authority must consider certain things. They must not grant the consent if it goes against a wastewater environmental performance standard or an infrastructure design solution, as defined in section 5 of the Water Services Act 2021. The authority must include conditions in the consent that give effect to these standards or solutions. If you are applying for a planning consent, the consent authority can include conditions that relate to activities or effects that are not covered by wastewater environmental standards or infrastructure design solutions. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, and the authority does not have to follow it if one of these exceptions applies. The authority can also include conditions that are not covered by wastewater environmental standards or infrastructure design solutions, unless this Act says otherwise. The consent authority must make sure the conditions are not more or less restrictive than necessary to meet the wastewater environmental performance standard or infrastructure design solution. You should be aware that this is a proposed change to the law, and it may affect how planning consents are granted in the future. The proposed change aims to ensure that wastewater networks are managed in a way that protects the environment and public health.