Local Water Done Well reforms and update on the Fast-Track Approvals Act

New Zealand's resource management laws have been undergoing a constant shakeup, with numerous new bills, frameworks and national direction being introduced. August and September 2025 were big months for the Government's resource management reform, with the key actions explored in this article.

 

Local Water Done Well

Local Water Done Well (LWDW) was a reform package introduced by the current Government as a way to address the water infrastructure challenges experienced by Councils and to establish a foundation for future delivery of water services. The LWDW framework aims to recognise the importance of local decision making and flexibility for communities and Councils to determine how their water services should be delivered in the future.

LWDW was set to be rolled out in three stages, each introducing a new piece of legislation. These stages are set out below:

Stage 1: The Water Services Acts Repeal Act 2024:

Introduced to repeal all previous water legislation. Due to this aim, the Act had a one-year lifespan and was repealed on the 17 February 2025 by its own section 6.

Stage 2: The Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024:

Established to provide a framework and preliminary arrangements for the new water services system, expected to be rolled out in the third piece of legislation.

This Act requires Councils to develop Water Services Delivery Plans by 3 September 2025. These plans must outline the Council's future water services delivery arrangements, and baseline information about their water services operations. The Government has announced that all Councils who were required to meet the 3 September deadline for submitting their Water Services Delivery Plans to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) had done so.

Stage 3: The Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025:

The Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 (Water Services Act) recently passed into law, obtaining Royal Assent on 26 August 2025. This is the third and final piece of legislation in the LWDW framework and has the purpose of establishing a foundation for future delivery of water services and aligns with the 2025-2028 plan for future water services delivery. The document Planning for future water services delivery (2025-2028) provides a high-level roadmap.

The Water Services Act sets up a new system for delivery of water services, including how water organisations will be created and governed, how things will work on a day-to-day level (such as introducing alternative options to bylaws for councils), and how planning, finances and consumer protection regimes will be established and managed.

Specific water infrastructure changes under the Water Services Act include:

Updates to drinking water

Registered drinking water suppliers are now required to renew their registration with Taumata Arowai every five years, rather than annually, as amended by the Local Government (Water Services) (Repeals and Amendments) Act 2025. This means that Drinking Water Safety Plans are re-confirmed when suppliers re-register every five years. The date for unregistered water suppliers to be registered has also been extended to 2028.

Water suppliers are no longer required to give effect to Te Mana o te Wai. Water service delivery plans will now go through an assessment by the DIA, and moderation by a review panel, before being considered for acceptance by the Secretary of Local Government. As of 19 September 2025, 20% of Councils have now had their water services delivery plans approved.

The implementation of these plans will be monitored by the DIA, starting in November 2025, and will be published and made available to the Commerce Commission and Water Services Authority by December 2025. If plans are not accepted, Councils will have an opportunity to respond, before the DIA establishes the next steps. If required, this may include a recommendation to the Minister about intervention options at a central government level.

Approximately two thirds of the Councils required to submit plans will then form multi- and single-council-controlled organisations to deliver water services. The remaining third will provide services through in-house business units. New water service providers will now have access to finances through the Local Government Funding Agency to enable the cost of appropriate levels of borrowing to be spread across current and future ratepayers.

Updates to wastewater

A draft set of wastewater standards, which would become Regulations implemented through the RMA, has been through a public consultation process. The wastewater standards were originally timetabled to be introduced shortly after the Water Services Act came into effect; however, the Water Services Act has made changes to provide clarity as to how the standards function and will be implemented. Most recent announcements indicate that the final set of proposed standards is expected to be put forward to Cabinet in October 2025, with guidance documents to follow afterwards.

Updates to stormwater

The Water Services Authority is to complete a draft version of the National Engineering Design Standards and will open for consultation late 2025 – early 2026. The purpose of these standards is to provide technical standards for the design, construction and operational performance of the infrastructure and processes that make up the drinking water, wastewater and stormwater networks owned or operated by water service providers.

 

Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024

While the water sector reform package is still in its early stages, an example of one of the bigger reform packages introduced by the current Government that is well into the implementation stage is the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024 (FTAA) framework.

The FTAA came into effect late 2024. As part of the FTAA, 149 projects selected by the Government are classified as 'listed', entitling them to have direct access to the FTAA process. Listed projects have been able to make substantive applications under the FTAA since February 2025. Other projects are still able to access the FTAA process but need to make a separate referral application to the Minister for Infrastructure as a first step (referral projects). As of early October, there have been 20 referral applications, with 13 of these being granted and referred to the FTAA process by the Minister. Once referral projects are referred to the FTAA process, they must, like listed projects, lodge substantive applications with the EPA.

As at early October, there are currently 24 projects that have successfully lodged a substantive application with the EPA and are in various stages in the process. 18 of these projects have had panels allocated, and a decision date set. Three of these are referred projects, with the rest being listed projects under the FTAA. There have also been two projects suspended, and one completely withdrawn from the scheme.

A significant milestone was reached on 21 August 2025, when the first decision under the FTAA was made. That decision granted approvals to the Bledisloe North Wharf and Fergusson North Berth Extension. That is a project to extend existing, and create new wharf facilities, at the Port of Auckland. This project had its substantive application deemed complete by the EPA on 12 March 2025, after having its initial application returned for non-compliance with requirements under the FTAA in February 2025. This process has taken approximately six months from lodgement to decision.

The first two housing development projects have recently been given the greenlight. Maitahi Village was approved on 16 September 2025. The Substantive application was lodged on 19 February, taking approximately eight months from lodgement to decision. Milldale Stages 4C and 10 to 13 was granted on 3 October 2025, after being lodged on 1 April, taking approximately six months from start to finish.

On 29 August 2025, the Panel released the draft decision and conditions for the Delmore project, a residential subdivision in Auckland. This draft decision proposed to grant approvals relating to an archaeological authority under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, however it proposed to decline resource consent applications. The Panel set out that the project failed to demonstrate promotion of the delivery of infrastructure and development with significant regional benefit, which is foundational to the FTAA scheme. Given the substantive application was lodged on 19 February 2025, it took just over six months to receive a draft decision and conditions.

As we start to see more projects allocated due dates for decisions, we will start to get more of an understanding of whether the fast-track process is delivering an easier and quicker route to gain approvals for development and infrastructure when compared to a traditional RMA process.

 

Things for applicants to be wary of

There is a high level of stringency being applied by the EPA and Minister when considering substantive applications. A number of applications from both listed and referred projects have been returned for incompleteness under the FTAA. Some of the reasons for rejecting applications as incomplete include:

• Not meeting requirements in section 43 of the FTAA. This sets out the requirements for a substantive application. Similarly, applicants need to pay particular attention to section 46 of the FTAA, which sets out what the EPA must consider when determining whether a substantive application is complete and within scope.

An example of an applicant going beyond scope is the recent High Court decision in Ngāti Kuku Hapū Trust v Environmental Protection Agency [2025] NZHC 2453. This judicial review proceeding related to the Stella Passage listed project being pursued by the Port of Tauranga Limited. This was accepted as complete by the EPA on 8 May 2025, however Ngāti Kuku Hapū Trust sought a judicial review on the grounds that the EPA was wrong in law as the application was beyond scope.

There are wharves on both sides of the Stella Passage, however, only the "Sulphur Point Wharf" was described in the listed project application. When the applicant lodged the substantive application, this sought approvals for works on the Sulphur Point Wharf and the Mount Maunganui Wharf. The High Court determined that the inclusion of works on the Mount Maunganui Wharf to be beyond scope.

The High Court agreed with Ngāti Kuku Hapū Trust that the substantive application went beyond scope of the listing for the project in the FTAA and therefore should not be accepted by the EPA.

• Referral applicants not meeting requirements in section 13 of the FTAA, which results in the decision being deemed incomplete by the responsible authority under section 14 of the FTAA.
• Not including sufficient detail on certain requirements. This has occurred where there has been insufficient information regarding mitigation measures, effects of the activity on the neighbourhood, wider community, including social, economic and cultural effects.
• Failure to identify any existing applications or resource consents that have been applied for under the RMA.
• Lack of/failure to consult with relevant parties, including iwi authorities, hapū and Treaty settlement entities, relevant administrating agencies and any local authorities.
• Failure to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources (section 5 of the RMA) and/or failure to deliver infrastructure and development with regional or national benefit (section 3 of the FTAA).
• Inconsistencies with objectives and policies of national, regional and district planning instruments.

If an application is deemed to be incomplete, the FTAA does not currently allow applicants to provide supplementary information, meaning the application must be re-lodged to address any issues with completeness. This is considered a new application and will be subject to additional fees and charges.

On 23 July 2025 the Panel Convener and Associated Panel Conveners issued a practice note (Practice and Procedure Guidance Note) which outlines matters such as procedural steps and requirements both prior to, and following appointment of a Panel. 

Applicants need to consider all requirements of the FTAA and apply them carefully to avoid delays in processing and to reduce risk of challenge. There are always teething issues with new legislation and we expect to see many more wrinkles and a developing case law base as a larger number of projects progress through the system. 

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis has recently signalled an amendment bill to be introduced before the end of the year to enable supermarkets to qualify for the fast-track process. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones have also indicated changes to the FTAA to improve processing times. We expect further changes to be made around "scope" issues in light of the recent decision in Ngāti Kuku Hapū Trust v Environmental Protection Agency (as above).

 

Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025

The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act gained Royal Assent on 20 August 2025, implementing new systems regarding infrastructure, housing, the primary sector, natural hazards, requiring plan change process and reviews to be subject to a 'plan stop' and general system improvements including in respect of enforcement mechanisms under the RMA. Read more about what this means for you in our previous article that explores this further.