Freshwater Farm Plans

What is a Freshwater Farm Plan?

FWFPs are a tool to identify practical on-farm actions to help improve local waterways. These will depend on the farm’s location, catchment and local environment, and will provide a more flexible alternative to consents and one-size-fits-all approaches.

In time, Freshwater Farm Plans are expected to become the central tool for farmers to manage all freshwater requirements.

The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025, which became law on 21 August 2025, introduced some changes to FWPs. These include:

• changes to the thresholds for who needs a Freshwater Farm Plan
• circumstances under which a Freshwater Farm Plan needs to be certified as previously all plans were to be certified
• a pathway for industry to be approved nationally to provide certification and audit services.

You can find out more about the changes in relation to FWPs in the Ministry for the Environment factsheet.

Further changes are expected to be made to Resource Management (Freshwater Farm Plans) Regulations 2023 before FWFPs will begin to be used.

What Canterbury farmers need to do

Right now, you don’t need to take any action. The rollout of Freshwater Farm Plans is currently on hold as the government works to make the system "more cost-effective and practical for farmers".

The government says this will involve working with the rural sector, iwi, and regional councils to simplify requirements and enable more local catchment-level solutions.

While FWFPs may still be some time away, you should already be planning and documenting how you manage risks to freshwater on your farm.

Much of the information that will eventually form part of a future FWFP you may already have above as part of your Farm Environment Plan, winter grazing management plan or other documentation.

The best thing you can do to ensure you're already well on your way to meeting the future requirements of a Freshwater Farm Plan is make sure your FEP is up to date and that you are ready for your next audit, know your consent conditions and be ready to show compliance, and to follow the Good Management Practices for freshwater.

If you have any further questions about FWFPs, send us an email or talk to your industry contacts. 

What are we doing toward implementing FWFPs?

We are currently working with regional governments nationwide, offering submissions and support to government as it works to rethink how Freshwater Farm Plans will be implemented.

While there is still some uncertainty about what FWFPs will look like, and when and how they will be rolled out in Canterbury, we are working behind the scenes to prepare for them.

Freshwater Farm Plans and Farm Environment Plans

Canterbury farms that don’t meet Permitted Activity rules are already required to have a Farm Environment Plan (FEP).  Many farms that have existing FEPs will also need to have a FWFP.

Unlike FEPs, FWFPs will need to be linked to the specific freshwater objectives for their catchment, described in a catchment context, challenges and values. Until FWFPs are rolled out in Canterbury, it is important that farmers with FEPs continue to follow that plan and focus on their next audit.

We’re currently working on plans to ensure the shift from FEPs to FWFPs is as smooth as possible and avoids duplication of farm plans being required in Canterbury. We’ll be sharing more information on this page as soon as we can.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about how we're preparing to roll out Freshwater Farm Plans in Canterbury, email our team at fwfp@ecan.govt.nz.