This is the ninth in Buddle Findlay's series of articles about the Environment Court and Planning Tribunal under the Planning Act 2026 and Natural Environment Act 2026.
What has happened to the Environment Court?
The structure of the Environment Court remains very similar to that under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Many of the procedural clauses around appointing judges, conferencing, alternative dispute resolution, hearings, evidence, witnesses, decisions, and costs are substantively unchanged from the RMA.
The Court's jurisdiction has changed in small respects, driven largely by two things: the Planning Act's "funnel" approach, which aims to prevent issues decided at a higher level from being relitigated at lower levels, and the creation of the new Planning Tribunal.
For example, appeals against a decision to include a standardised plan provision, amend a plan to implement a national instrument, or exclude a provision or matter from a proposed plan are limited to questions of law only.1 Merit appeals to plans are limited to:2
The spatial application of standardised provisions on a specified topic (ie significant historic heritage, outstanding natural landscapes/features, sites of significance to Māori, and coastal areas of high natural character);
If the standardised provision is out of date / there has been a significant change in circumstances; or
If the appeal is to a bespoke plan provision or relief framework provision.
On resource consents, the right to appeal a consent authority's decision on a resource consent application remains virtually the same. The main difference is that direct referral to the Environment Court and the Board of Inquiry process have been removed as alternative pathways for notified resource consent applications.
What is the Planning Tribunal?
The Planning Act establishes a new Planning Tribunal. Ministers Hon Chris Bishop and Simon Court have described the Planning Tribunal as one of the major features of the new system:
Faster conflict resolution: the establishment of a Planning Tribunal will provide a low cost, fast way of resolving simple conflicts.3
The Planning Tribunal is set to be established in 2027 as a division of the Environment Court, with its own Principal Adjudicator and pool of Adjudicators.
Reflecting its intended role as a faster, lower-cost forum for resolving simpler disputes, the Planning Tribunal can review a number of specified decisions, including:
Notification decisions for legal or procedural error (discussed further below)4
Requests for further information made by a local authority5
Procedural decisions, including on completeness, strike out, private plan changes, notification or hearing deferrals, time extensions, and disputes over statutory timeframes6
Decline of designation-related decisions, including part removal of a designation, permission on designated land, lapse extensions, and draft spatial plan notification
Existing use rights and consent or permit continuation, including issue or revocation of existing use certificates, the exercise of a consent or permit during reprocessing, lapse date and existing use right extensions, and revocation of cancellation
Regulatory relief decisions and additional fee requirements.7
The Planning Tribunal now assumes a role in reviewing notification decisions for legal and procedural error.8 To date, the only way to challenge notification decisions has been through judicial review proceedings in the High Court, which can present a significant obstacle in terms of cost. It will be interesting to see whether this change results in an increase in formal challenges to council decisions to process consent applications on a non-notified basis.
The Planning Tribunal may also determine how a permit or consent condition should be interpreted.9 However, the clear intention is to reserve appeals of consent and permit decisions (and conditions) for the Environment Court.10
To start proceedings in the Planning Tribunal, a person must file an application within the period set by regulations or, if no period is set, within 15 working days of the relevant decision, and pay the prescribed fee.11
The presumption is that matters are decided without a hearing, but the Principal Adjudicator may direct a hearing where appropriate, including by request of any party.12 Legal representation is permitted at Tribunal hearings, and the Tribunal may award reasonable costs.13
Lastly, Planning Tribunal decisions may generally be appealed on questions of law to the Environment Court, and judicial review of the Tribunal decision in the High Court is another option (but only once the Environment Court has decided any appeal).
The exception is notification decisions of the Tribunal, which may be appealed on questions of law to the High Court and/or the subject of judicial review in that Court.14
Significantly, in all cases no further rights of appeal are provided for in the legislation, such as to the Court of Appeal and/or the Supreme Court.15
The role of the Planning Tribunal during the transition to the new system
The Planning Tribunal is one of the Planning Act’s more significant new features, particularly as it will play an important role during the transition from the RMA. From a date set by Order in Council, it will replace consent authorities as the forum for reviewing most of the decisions above under the RMA, except for notification decisions and non-notified consent reviews.16 With the Tribunal expected to be established in 2027, applicants and councils should begin preparing for this new review pathway. Its early operation under the RMA will provide the first practical test of its promise to resolve disputes more quickly and at lower cost.
Co-authored by Sean Chan (Solicitor).
1 Schedule 3, clause 32; and Schedule 9, clause 44.
2 Schedule 3, clauses 32, 33 and 34.
3 A better planning system for a better New Zealand | Beehive.govt.nz.
4 Schedule 10, clause 18.
5 Schedule 10, clause 17.
6 Schedule 10, clauses 16 and 19.
7 Schedule 10, clause 16.
8 Schedule 10, clause 18.
9 Schedule 10, clause 20.
10 Departmental Report Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill Report 2 at page 123.
11 Schedule 10, clause 26.
12 Schedule 10, clause 27.
13 Schedule 10, clause 28.
14 Schedule 10, clause 37.
15 Schedule 10, clause 37(4).
16 Part 4 of Schedule 12.