Consent fast-track approvals

The Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 (FTAA) is a new approval process for a range of infrastructure, housing and development projects with significant regional or national benefits. It is an alternative process to consenting under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Ministry for the Environment administer the applications under the FTAA. Other regulatory bodies are also given the opportunity to input into the process, including regional councils like ours.

Fast-track application pathways

Projects can access the fast-track approvals process in two ways: via a referral process and a substantive process.  

Referral process

• An applicant lodges a project for referral with the Ministry for the Environment, which assesses that it complies with the FTAA.

• Compliant applications are then sent to the Minister for Infrastructure, who then decides whether a project can be accepted and ‘referred’ to the fast-track approval process. 

Substantive process

• Referred projects can lodge a substantive application with the EPA for an expert panel to consider and decide on final approvals.
• Projects already listed in Schedule 2 of the FTAA could make a substantive application from 7 February 2025.  Of the 149 projects listed, 23 are in the Canterbury region. 

An overview of the fast-track process is available here: Process overview | Fast-track website.

Our role in the process

We do not make any decisions on a fast-track application, but respond to requests for comment on a project at various stages of the FTAA process.

In the referral process, the Minister for Infrastructure considers and makes decisions. In the substantive process, an expert panel is appointed to consider and make decisions.

Our role in the fast-track process:

• Provide pre-application advice to an applicant who must notify us before they lodge their application (referral or listed). 

• Respond to invitations to provide advice on applications from the Minister for Infrastructure (referral applications) and the Environmental Protection Authority and expert panels (substantive applications) as required under the FTAA throughout the application process. This advice ranges from completeness checks of an application and recommendations on timeframes to be set for expert panels to determine a proposal, through to adequacy of conditions, compliance with legislative documents and potential environmental effects.

• Handle the various approvals decided by the expert panels, along with other relevant agencies and parties, similar to how consents approved under the RMA are managed.

Fast-track application requirements

Before lodging your application 

Before lodging a referral or listed application, applicants must meet pre-lodgement requirements set out in Section 11 of the FTAA.

While the FTAA states that 20 working days’ notice is required, we strongly recommend that you engage with us sooner, so that we can provide meaningful input into your application. The more work you do with us upfront will likely make it more cost effective and easier for you in the long run and help ensure you submit a quality fast-track application.

Submitting quality fast-track applications 

The information provided in an application can significantly shape our ability to make recommendations to the EPA and expert panels at key steps in the fast-track process. With this in mind, we have considered through first-hand experiences what level of information would enable us to make recommendations in an efficient manner within the constrained timeframes.

We have developed a guidance document to assist applicants when developing a fast-track application [link to the PDF once finalised]. 

Notification requirements under Section 30 of the FTAA 

Section 30 of the FTAA requires an applicant to notify each regional council that is a consent authority (such as us) in writing that they do not hold existing resource consents for the same activity using some or all of the same natural resource. 

Once the regional council has received notification, it is then required to notify the applicant in writing of any existing resource consents to which section 124C(1)(c) or 165ZI of the RMA applies within 10 working days of receiving the notification. This step must be completed before the substantive application can be lodged. 

Costs for fast-track processing 

Costs prior to lodging with the EPA: We can recover all fair and reasonable costs for the work we do with applicants (including that of any consultants used to assist) prior to the application being lodged. Please see for further details relating to costs and charging. See our pre-application service page for further details relating to costs and charging. 

Costs after application is lodged: Once an application is lodged (either referral or substantive), any costs resulting from us responding to a request from the EPA or the Ministry for the Environment are recovered directly from applicants by these administering agencies. 

For full details, refer to the EPA's fees, charges and cost recovery information. 

Contact us:  If your proposal is located in Canterbury and you plan to use the fast-track process, get in touch with our pre-application service. We can help you meet your consultation requirements and make the process smoother.