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Natural Environment Bill

Combined plan and other matters - National environment plans - Evaluation reports and justification reports

108: Requirements for justification reports

You could also call this:

"What to include in a report to justify special rules in a plan"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If a proposed plan has special rules, you need a justification report. This report is required under clause 11 of Schedule 3 of the Planning Act 2025 for plans with certain types of provisions. You must follow specific rules when creating this report. When a plan has a bespoke provision, the report must explain why it is allowed. It must also describe the good and bad effects of the provision and assess its costs and benefits. The report should state how the regional council will monitor the provision's effectiveness. For provisions on specified topics, the report must identify the topic and justify why the provision is not against national rules. It must describe the area the provision applies to and assess its impact on cultural or natural values. The report should include key data and evidence that informed the provision. The report must have enough detail based on the plan's content and significance. It must also follow specific requirements for ecosystem health limits that are less stringent than national standards.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1527066.

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Part 3Combined plan and other matters
National environment plans: Evaluation reports and justification reports

108Requirements for justification reports

  1. This section sets out the requirements for a justification report required under clause 11 of Schedule 3 of the Planning Act 2025 for a draft of a proposed plan that contains—

  2. a bespoke provision; or
    1. a provision on a specified topic; or
      1. a provision to which section 51(4) applies (which relates to less stringent ecosystem health limits).

        1. In relation to a bespoke provision, a justification report must—

        2. justify why the provision is either—
          1. expressly authorised by a national instrument; or
            1. not precluded by the national instruments; and
            2. describe the positive and negative impacts of the provision; and
              1. assess the costs and benefits of the provision, including any costs and benefits from the provision or reduction of development capacity; and
                1. state how the regional council proposes to monitor the effectiveness of the proposed provision; and
                  1. summarise the evidence for its view that section 97(3) applies, if the regional council is proposing that the bespoke provision will not give effect to any provision in the regional spatial plan in accordance with that section; and
                    1. state how, if at all, the draft has been influenced by—
                      1. pre-notification consultation (see clause 5 of Schedule 3 of the Planning Act 2025); and
                        1. any other engagement with local communities.

                        2. In relation to a provision on a specified topic, a justification report must—

                        3. identify which specified topic the provision relates to; and
                          1. justify why the provision is not precluded by national instruments; and
                            1. describe the area to which the provision applies; and
                              1. assess the extent to which the provision is appropriate in relation to the cultural or natural values associated with that area; and
                                1. describe the key data and evidence that has informed the proposed provision, including the spatial application of the proposed provision; and
                                  1. include the matters in subsection (2)(b) to (e).

                                    1. In relation to an ecosystem health limit that is less stringent than the minimum acceptable level specified in national standards, a justification report must comply with the prescribed requirements.

                                    2. The justification report must contain a level of detail that corresponds to the scale and significance of the content of the draft proposed plan.