Designating authorities

Requiring authorities now considered designating authorities

The Planning Act 2026 replaces the Resource Management Act’s requiring authority system with a new designating authority system.

Any requiring authority under the Resource Management Act 1991 before the Planning Act was enacted will be treated as a designating authority under the Planning Act.

Applications for designating authority status can be made from 30 September 2026.

Applications under both Acts

During the transition from the RMA to the Planning Act, entities can still apply for requiring authority status under the RMA until the specified transition date.

If applying for both, you will need to provide:

1. Form 17 for the requiring authority application as specified in the Resource Management (Forms, Fees, and Procedure) Regulations 2003 (New Zealand Legislation)
2. a designating authority form (DOCX 116KB) .

However, you can cross-reference your assessment between the applications where statutory considerations are the same, keeping in mind the assessment in each may differ depending on the statutory contexts of the different Acts.

Who can be a designating authority

Designating authorities can be:

• a Minister of the Crown
• a local authority
• a water service provider as defined in section 4 of the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025
• a core infrastructure operator approved as a designating authority under the Planning Act
• other infrastructure operators approved as a designating authority under the Planning Act.

A core infrastructure operator can apply to the Minister for the Environment for approval to become a designating authority for the purposes of a particular project or a particular core infrastructure operation.

Core infrastructure operators are defined in clause 9 Schedule 5 of the Planning Act 2026 (New Zealand Legislation).

Other infrastructure operators can apply to the Minister for the Environment for approval to become a designating authority for the purposes of a particular project.

Other infrastructure is defined in clause 11 Schedule 5 of the Planning Act 2026 (New Zealand Legislation).

What designating authorities can do

Designating authorities have significant powers. They can:

• give notice to the local authority of a proposed designation for a project. (A designation is a provision in a land use plan that allows the designating authority to use land for a project and/or operation and protects that land from other uses that would prevent or hinder the designated purpose)
• undertake works in an emergency and get resource consents after the work has been done (core infrastructure operators only)
• apply to the Minister of Land Information to use the compulsory acquisition powers in the Public Works Act 1981 (for certain infrastructure projects core infrastructure operators only)
• apply to the District Court for powers of entry onto private land for survey and investigation purposes under the Public Works Act 1981 (core infrastructure operators only).

Revocation of designating authority status

Under the Planning Act, the Minister for the Environment may revoke designating authority status under clause 12 Schedule 5 if satisfied that the designating authority is:

• unlikely to undertake or complete a project or core infrastructure operation; or
• unlikely to satisfactorily carry out any of its responsibilities as designating authority under the Planning Act; or
• no longer a core infrastructure operator.