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Planning Law Changes in New Zealand: What It Means for Hauraki

What's changing?

New Zealand's planning laws are getting a big overhaul.

The Resource Management Act 1991 (known as the RMA) has been the main law governing how land is used and how we look after our natural environment for over 30 years. On 30 September 2026, the Planning Act 2026 and the Natural Environment Act 2026 received Royal Assent, beginning a transition away from the RMA to the new planning legislation.

This transition is expected to take at least four years.

What does this mean for Hauraki right now?

From 30 October 2026, there are some changes to how we assess resource consent applications. Under the new transitional rules, there are certain things we are no longer allowed to consider when assessing some land use activities.

For example, under the new rules, district land use applications can no longer consider factors such as effects on trade competition, financial viability of a project, or views from private property. For residential activities specifically, we also cannot consider things like the size of a unit, the area of glazing, or whether a development has balconies.

If you already have an application lodged with council, it will continue to be assessed under the existing District Plan rules. Only new applications lodged after 30 October 2026 will be subject to the transitional rules.

Our District Plan is still in place. We are not making any major changes to it during this transition period.

What is coming next?

Over the next few years, Hauraki District Council will be working with all local authorities across the Waikato Region to develop three new plans:

  • Regional Spatial Plan: This sets the big picture for where growth happens across the region over the next 30 or more years. It covers things like housing, infrastructure and how the region develops over time. This plan is expected to be notified by June 2028.
  • Land Use Plan: This replaces our current District Plan and will set the rules for how land in Hauraki is used and developed. It is expected to be notified by December 2029.
  • Natural Environment Plan: This sets out how we protect and care for our natural environment, including rivers, wetlands and biodiversity. It is also expected to be notified by December 2029.

These three plans together will form what is called the Regional Combined Plan.

What is Hauraki District Council doing about it?

Our team is already working on this.

We are preparing for the new consenting rules, working with other Waikato councils on the Regional Spatial Plan, and reviewing our current data and plans to make sure we are ready for what comes next. We are also making sure our community's needs and priorities are clearly heard throughout this process.

You can get in touch with our team directly if you have questions about a specific consent application.

Want to know more?

For more detailed information about the national planning changes, visit:


What you can do to say up to date:

We've created this info page to keep you up to date with these changes. Make sure to bookmark this page and check back on this page regularly to stay in the know about what is going on.

You can also sign up for our Building and Consents newsletter here, and get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox!

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