Assessment of your application
After receiving your application, we have 10 working days to confirm whether your application has all the required information to begin processing.
Our assessment process
Within 10 days we will assess your application for completeness and if it is not complete we will return it under s88(3) of the RMA.
If we have established that the application is complete, a consent planner will be assigned to process the consent. This involves the following steps, which are discussed further below:
- ensuring that we have all the information required to process the application and, if we do not, requesting that information
- establishing whether or not we require other resource consent applications to be made for the proposal
- assessing the application and making a recommendation on whether or not the application needs to be notified (limited or public)
- assessing the application and making a recommendation on whether or not the application should be granted or refused.
As part of assessing your application we will consider:
- the type of activity
- the degree of compliance with the plan requirements
- whether the application requires any affected party's written approval, and whether these approvals have been obtained
- whether the associated environmental and cultural effects are substantially different to those likely to occur from undertaking a permitted activity.
Our assessment will also determine if site visits and/or additional specialist advice is required.
Request for additional information
After we have assessed your application we may decide further information is required to understand the activity.
You may be requested to provide this information under s92(1) of the RMA, or in some cases we will notify you of our intention to commission a person to prepare a report under s92(2).
Responses to a request for further information
You have the right to refuse a request or state when you will provide the information; however, you must respond within 15 working days of the request stating your response. If you do not reply, or refuse to provide the information or refuse the report, we must publicly notify your application.
Assessing environmental effects
If a resource consent is required for an activity, the effects of the proposed activity need to be considered.
Any effects, whether positive or negative, long- or short-term, or when combined with each other, need to be identified in an Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE).
The AEE is a key document provided with your application. It identifies the effects of your proposed activity on the environment, tangata whenua and your neighbours, and ways that any effects can be avoided or reduced.
The Ministry for the Environment has provided a detailed guide on preparing an AEE.
The scope and level of detail of the AEE will be considered with regard to the proposed activity and the sensitivity of the receiving environment.
The information in the AEE will be evaluated to determine the scale and significance of the effect, and how this corresponds with the level of detail in the AEE.
If mitigation of the effects of the activity is required, the approach to this, and the overall level of detail within the assessment will also be considered.
In certain situations, we can extend the period for an application under Section 37 of the RMA and Section 37A of the RMA when special circumstances apply, or the applicant agrees to the extension.
In extending a timeframe however, we must consider the interests of those people affected by the extension and the community, and our duty to avoid unreasonable delay.
In some instances, the assessment outcome will indicate that a Certificate of Compliance may be required as your proposed activity is considered to be lawful without a resource consent. You will be informed if this is the case.
Assessing cultural effects
To fully understand the potential effects of a proposed activity on people and the environment, cultural effects must be addressed within the AEE section of a resource consent application.
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) recognises the relationship tangata whenua have with their ancestral lands, water, sites of significance (sacred sites) and other taonga (treasures).
The resource consent process provides a mechanism for cultural values to be considered. It means that anyone wanting to carry out an activity which may have an effect on these values should consult tāngata whenua about their proposed activity, and address the potential effects within their resource consent application.
The application may need to consider options to avoid, remedy or mitigate any potential effects on cultural values that are identified during the consultation process.
Find out more about Ngāi Tahu and the consent process.
Receiving our grant/decline decision
Once you receive a copy of our decision to grant your application, you should advise us within 15 working days of receiving it that you wish to carry out the activity covered by the consent. This only applies to applications where there have been no submissions. The resource consent commences immediately, unless you lodge an objection.
If there were submitters on your application, you must wait 15 working days to see whether any appeals are lodged. If there are none, then you may exercise your consent.
If you (the applicant) or a submitter are not satisfied with our decision to grant/decline, you are entitled to:
- Lodge an objection with us within 15 working days if there were no submissions on your notified application.
- Lodge an appeal or enquiry with the Environment Court if there were submissions.
You must have legal standing under the Resource Management Act 1991 and understand the procedures that need to be followed before you lodge an objection or appeal.
If you fail to follow the correct procedures, your appeal may be dismissed without you having the opportunity to present your case.
Objections and appeals
After a decision there is a 15 working day to lodge an objection or appeal. For any decisions we make we will outline in writing what your options on objections or appeals are.
If you wish to object to or appeal a decision made during the consenting process, we can help you understand the procedures to lodge an objection or appeal.
Additionally, you can consult a lawyer or suitably qualified resource management consultant.
Find out more about consent decisions currently under appeal.
Types of objections/appeals
Under Section 357 of the RMA, you can object to a decision on incomplete or suspended applications, information requests, submissions, or Certificate of Compliance under specific sections of the RMA.
Consent applications
There is a right of objection in the RMA to a decision:
- to return your application as incomplete under Section 88(3)
- to return a suspended application under Section 91C(2) or Section 91F(2)
- on an application for resource consent in accordance with Section 357A(f) or (g). In this case, you may request to have your objection considered by a hearing commissioner (s357AB), and the full costs of that may be charged to you.
Request for further information
- Under Section 92(1) of the RMA, we may ask for further information regarding your application, while Section 92(2) of the RMA allows us to request the commissioning of a report.
- You have the right to refuse or agree to either of these requests; however, you must respond within 15 working days of the request stating your response. If you do not reply, refuse to provide the information or refuse the report, we must publicly notify your application.
Submissions
- You have the right to object if your submission is struck out under Section 41C(7) of the RMA by us.
- If your submission is declined to be processed or considered by the board of enquiry exercising the power of a consent authority under Section 99(8) of the RMA, you have the right to object.
View Consent fees and charges page for information on objections to charges.
Environment Court appeal
The Environment Court is administered by the Ministry of Justice and is presided over by a judge with expertise in planning and resource management issues.
The Environment Court can override a local authority’s decisions. It will hear the application again but will have regard to our decision unless issues are mediated between the parties to the appeal beforehand.
If you wish to appeal to the Environment Court, you must do so within 15 working days of receiving our resource consent decision.
You should seek legal advice if you wish to appeal to the Environment Court and understand the set procedures and court fees involved before proceeding.
Find out more about how to lodge your appeal or application with the Environment Court.