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Fast-track Approvals Act 2024

Fast-track approvals process - Miscellaneous provisions - Appeals and judicial review

99: Appeal against decisions only on question of law

You could also call this:

“You can challenge a panel's legal decisions, but not their judgement”

You can appeal to the High Court if you disagree with a panel’s decision about approving or not approving something under this law. But you can only appeal if you think the panel made a mistake about the law, not just because you don’t like their decision.

You can appeal if you’re the person who asked for approval, if you’re a local authority involved, if you’re the Attorney-General, or if you gave comments when asked about the approval.

After the High Court makes a decision, you can’t appeal to the Court of Appeal. But you can ask the Supreme Court if they will let you appeal to them. If the Supreme Court says no, but thinks your appeal should still be looked at, they might send it to the Court of Appeal instead.

If your appeal goes to the Court of Appeal this way, that’s the end of the road - you can’t appeal their decision.

If you want to ask the Supreme Court to look at your appeal, you have to do it within 10 working days after the High Court’s decision. The Supreme Court or Court of Appeal will treat these appeals as very important and urgent.

This law also explains that some specific decisions, like exchanging land or decisions about fish farming, count as decisions that you can appeal.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS943301.

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Part 2 Fast-track approvals process
Miscellaneous provisions: Appeals and judicial review

99Appeal against decisions only on question of law

  1. Any of the following persons may appeal to the High Court against the whole or a part of the decision of a panel to grant or decline to grant an approval under this Act, but only on a question of law:

  2. the applicant (or, if the substantive application was lodged by more than 1 authorised person, the person who was proposed to hold the approval):
    1. any relevant local authority:
      1. the Attorney-General:
        1. any person or group that provided comments in response to an invitation given under this Act.

          1. No appeal may be made to the Court of Appeal against a determination of the High Court under this section.

          2. However, a party may apply to the Supreme Court for leave to bring an appeal to that court against a determination of the High Court and, for this purpose, sections 73 to 76 of the Senior Courts Act 2016 apply with any necessary modifications.

          3. If the Supreme Court refuses to give leave for an appeal (on the grounds that exceptional circumstances have not been established under section 75 of the Senior Courts Act 2016) but considers that a further appeal from the determination of the High Court is justified, the court may remit the proposed appeal to the Court of Appeal.

          4. No appeal may be made against any appeal determined by the Court of Appeal in accordance with subsection (4).

          5. Despite any legislation to the contrary,—

          6. an application for leave for the purposes of subsection (3) must be filed no later than 10 working days after the determination of the High Court; and
            1. the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be, must determine an application for leave, or an appeal, to which this section applies, as a matter of priority and urgency.

              1. For the purposes of subsection (1),—

              2. a decision under section 81 on an approval described in section 42(4)(f) (land exchange) is a decision to grant or decline to grant an approval regardless of whether the decision is treated as conditional under section 86:
                1. the following are part of a decision to grant or decline to grant an approval:
                  1. an aquaculture decision made by a panel in relation to the approval:
                    1. a decision made by a panel on an application under clause 7 of Schedule 8 (application for approval of person to carry out activity).

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