On 25 August 2026, the Government released illustrative National Policy Direction (Illustrative NPD) for public consultation, marking another milestone in the ongoing reform of New Zealand’s resource management system.
National policy direction is a defining element of the proposed new system. It is the instrument through which the goals of the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill are to be particularised and conflicts between the goals are to be identified and resolved (or directed how to be resolved). National policy direction will shape everything that follows in the system and dictate whether the new system delivers coherent, integrated environmental management across the country.
Key themes in the Illustrative NPD
The Illustrative NPD is organised around five themes (divided further into sub-themes) reflecting the Government’s key priorities for the planning system:
Theme 1: Housing and Development (Sub-themes: Competitive urban land markets, Well-functioning urban areas, Well-functioning rural areas, Natural hazards)
Theme 2: Infrastructure (Sub-themes: All infrastructure, Energy, Natural hazards)
Theme 3: Primary production and the rural economy (Sub-themes: Agriculture, Horticulture, Commercial forestry, Aquaculture and other marine primary production, Natural hazards)
Theme 4: Resources – quarrying, mining and waste (Sub-themes: Quarrying and mining, Waste management, resource recovery infrastructure and managing emergency waste, Managing contaminated land and soils, Natural Hazards)
Theme 5: Public values (Sub-themes: Environmental and human health, Indigenous biodiversity, Public access to lakes, rivers and the coastal marine area, High natural character and outstanding natural features and landscapes, Significant historic heritage, Natural hazards and public values)
Within each theme, directives are designed to provide direction on how the goals of the planning system should be put into practice. Directives are the policy instructions that ‘particularise’ the goals of the bills and describe the outcomes that planning and decision-making are expected to support. The directives are intended to be read together.
Alongside these five priority themes, the Illustrative NPD contains “cross-cutting directives”, designed to apply across all themes, as well as “system-wide directives” related to Māori interests and natural hazards.
The first two cross-cutting directives clearly deliver the broad policy intent toward private property rights and economic growth. The use of private land is to be enabled, with restrictions only imposed where necessary to ensure others are not unreasonably affected or to provide for important public values. Economic growth and change is to be supported by being responsive to new and emerging economic opportunities, providing certainty for investment, and reducing unnecessary costs and constraints for projects that drive economic growth and employment.
Although many of the directives across the themes share similarities with existing national policy direction under the RMA, others represent new approaches. For example, proposed directives in Theme 1 directs land use plans to “apply the most permissive planning provisions as possible”, enable “as much intensification as possible”, and signal a move away from private plan changes to manage infrastructure constraints in areas identified as otherwise suitable for development or intensification (with temporary or future plan provisions to be used instead). As for Theme 2, the Illustrative NPD directs land use and natural environment plans to enable all sources of energy to be developed and expanded.
HOW CONFLICTS WILL BE MANAGED
Conflicting policy direction under the RMA was a continual source of ambiguity, uncertainty and litigation. One of the most significant design features of the new system is its approach to managing conflicts between competing national priorities.
Within the Illustrative NPD’s five thematic priorities, each contains “directives to achieve compatibility and resolve conflict”. As an example, in our view, specific directives for recurring conflicts prioritise:
Urban development over high value growing areas1, areas of high natural character, and outstanding natural character: Land use plans may allow urban development in high value growing areas, areas of high natural character or outstanding natural features or landscapes if the development meets criteria set out in national standards2.
Māori Land over high value growing areas: Land use plans must enable identified Māori Land to be used and developed for papakāinga and other purposes to meet the present and future cultural, economic, social and/or environmental aspirations and needs; and, enable land to transition to an alternative land use or zone where there are permanent or long-term constraints, including limited access to natural resources, or a need to manage environmental effects.
Regionally significant quarries, mines and mineral resources over infrastructure (unless an exception applies): Land use plans must protect identified regionally significant quarries, mines and mineral resources from competing land uses, including infrastructure, except, broadly, if the infrastructure has an operational or functional need to be near the mineral resources and adverse effects are managed.
The long-term availability of significant resources over urban development: where conflict cannot be avoided, land use plans must prioritise the long-term availability of known significant mineral resources ahead of urban development. Land use plans must also avoid urban development where it would prevent identified mineral resource extraction, unless there is no feasible alternative to meet development capacity.
Waste infrastructure over urban growth: To provide for urban growth without constraining waste infrastructure, land use plans must avoid locating urban development where it would constrain existing waste management infrastructure, or prevent development of identified future waste infrastructure, unless no feasible alternative exists.
Private property rights over public access: Land use plans and natural environment plans must only provide for public access across private land where: the landowner has agreed to that access; access is authorised under legislation or another lawful arrangement.
Sites of significance to Māori over historic heritage: To manage any overlap, inconsistency or conflict between provisions applying to a place identified as both a site of significance to Māori and significant historic heritage, land use plans must prioritise protection of the site’s significance to Māori.
‘Very high’ natural hazard risk over housing and development: Land use plans must ensure natural hazard risks associated with housing and development are managed by avoiding housing and development where risks are assessed as ‘very high’.
Other conflicts are proposed to be resolved using national standards.
TIMELINE AND PARTICIPATION
Submissions on the Illustrative NPD close at 11:59 pm on 16 October 2026. Feedback on the Illustrative NPD will inform development of the proposed NPD once the bills are enacted and identify where additional guidance, tools and support may be needed to help councils apply NPD under the new system.
Formal statutory consultation on the NPD will take place once the bills are enacted (no specific date confirmed).
If you have any questions about the matters raised in this article, please get in touch with the contacts listed or your usual Bell Gully adviser.
1A definition will be developed after the non-statutory engagement, intending to take account of additional factors, such as the regional or national significance of the area for growing food, than presently considered in the ‘highly productive land’ definition under the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land.
2HD-Directive 1.6. In Theme 5 – Public Values (sub-theme Indigenous biodiversity), the consultation document refers the reader to Theme 1 – Housing and Development and Theme 2 – Infrastructure for direction on managing conflicts between indigenous biodiversity outcomes, housing and infrastructure. However, the directives for resolving conflict in Theme 1 are limited to high growing areas, and areas of high natural character, or outstanding natural features or landscapes. Indigenous biodiversity is not referenced.
Disclaimer: This publication is necessarily brief and general in nature. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication.
