New Zealand’s New Planning System to Speed Up Infrastructure Delivery and Growth

The New Zealand Government is replacing the Resource Management Act 1991 with a new planning system designed to simplify and accelerate infrastructure delivery, providing long-term certainty through spatial plans and streamlined consenting processes. Key reforms include protecting important sites early, standardizing rules for common activities, and enabling critical infrastructure projects to proceed even in protected areas, thereby reducing costs and delays. The legislation aims to unlock investment, support growth, and align infrastructure with development, with bills introduced to Parliament and national policy direction to be finalized within nine months of enactment.