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Natural Environment Bill

Combined plan and other matters - National environment plans - Core requirements for plan making

95: Natural environment plan must include standardised plan provisions as directed by national instrument

You could also call this:

"Plans for the environment must follow national rules"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If you are a regional council, you must include certain standardised plan provisions in your natural environment plan if a national instrument tells you to. You can also include these provisions if a national instrument says you may do so. You have to follow any rules in the national instrument about these provisions. You can only do certain things with standardised plan provisions if a national instrument allows you to. This includes deciding where the provision applies, which provision to use if there are options, and what the provision says within certain limits. You can also choose not to include a provision if a national instrument lets you. You cannot change a standardised plan provision once it is included in your plan.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1537751.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Town planningGovernment and voting > Local councils

94: Schedule 3 of Planning Act 2025 applies, or

"Following the Planning Act 2025 rules to create or change natural environment plans"

96: Plan may include bespoke plan provisions if authorised by national instrument, or

"A plan can have special rules if a national instrument allows it."

Part 3Combined plan and other matters
National environment plans: Core requirements for plan making

95Natural environment plan must include standardised plan provisions as directed by national instrument

A regional council—
must include a standardised plan provision in its natural environment plan or a proposed natural environment plan if a national instrument directs it to include that provision; and
may include a standardised plan provision in its plan or a proposed plan if a national instrument directs that it may include that provision; and
must comply with any substantive or procedural requirements in a national instrument relating to a standardised plan provision.

In particular, a regional council may do any of the following only if authorised by a national instrument:
determine the spatial application of the standardised plan provision:
select which standardised plan provision, out of 2 or more alternatives set out in the national instrument, it will include in its plan:
determine any content specified by the national instrument from within parameters set out in that instrument:
choose not to include a standardised plan provision.

A regional council must not amend a standardised plan provision.