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Fast-track Approvals Act 2024

Fast-track approvals process - Panel consideration of substantive application - Panel decisions

85: When panel must or may decline approvals

You could also call this:

“Rules for when the panel must or can say no to approvals”

The panel must say no to an approval in certain situations. These include when the activity is not allowed, when it would break the rules in section 7, or when specific types of approvals must be refused according to other parts of the law.

The panel must also say no to a resource consent for any area where it’s not allowed under certain rules.

The panel can choose to say no to an approval if they think the bad effects are too big compared to the good things the project would do for the region or country. They’ll think about this even after looking at any conditions they might set or any changes the applicant might suggest to fix or make up for the bad effects.

It’s important to know that the panel can’t say no just because the bad effects don’t match with what other laws or documents say, if those laws or documents are ones the panel has to think about when making their decision.

When the panel is thinking about saying no, they’ll look at all the things that might make the approval a bad idea. These are called ‘adverse impacts’.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS989547.

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Part 2 Fast-track approvals process
Panel consideration of substantive application: Panel decisions

85When panel must or may decline approvals

  1. The panel must decline an approval if 1 or more of the following apply:

  2. the approval is for an ineligible activity:
    1. the panel considers that granting the approval would breach section 7:
      1. in the case of an approval described in section 42(4)(b) (change or cancellation of resource consent condition), the approval must be declined under clause 23 of Schedule 5:
        1. in the case of an approval described in section 42(4)(c) (certificate of compliance), the approval must be declined under clause 27 of Schedule 5:
          1. in the case of an approval described in section 42(4)(e) (concession), the approval must be declined under clause 7(3) of Schedule 6:
            1. in the case of an approval described in section 42(4)(f) (land exchange), the approval must be declined under clause 29(2) or (3) of Schedule 6:
              1. in the case of an approval described in section 42(4)(l) or (m) (access arrangement), the approval must be declined under clause 7(2) or 8(2) of Schedule 11, as the case may be:
                1. in the case of an approval described in section 42(4)(n) (mining permit), the approval must be declined under clause 20 of Schedule 11.

                  1. A panel must decline an approval described in section 42(4)(a) (resource consent) for any area for which the approval must not be granted under clause 17(5) of Schedule 5.

                  2. A panel may decline an approval if, in complying with section 81(2), the panel forms the view that—

                  3. there are 1 or more adverse impacts in relation to the approval sought; and
                    1. those adverse impacts are sufficiently significant to be out of proportion to the project’s regional or national benefits that the panel has considered under section 81(4), even after taking into account—
                      1. any conditions that the panel may set in relation to those adverse impacts; and
                        1. any conditions or modifications that the applicant may agree to or propose to avoid, remedy, mitigate, offset, or compensate for those adverse impacts.

                        2. To avoid doubt, a panel may not form the view that an adverse impact meets the threshold in subsection (3)(b) solely on the basis that the adverse impact is inconsistent with or contrary to a provision of a specified Act or any other document that a panel must take into account or otherwise consider in complying with section 81(2).

                        3. In subsections (3) and (4), adverse impact means any matter considered by the panel in complying with section 81(2) that weighs against granting the approval.