Outline plans and outline plan waivers

What this application is

A designation sets land aside for public works or network utilities. Auckland Council gives roads, telecommunications facilities, schools and prisons as examples. Wellington City Council says only requiring authorities can designate land, and that a requiring authority can be a Minister of the Crown, a local authority or an approved network utility operator.^[2][7]

Auckland Council says that once a designation is in the plan the works can be carried out at any time, and that the responsible authority does not have to comply with Unitary Plan rules but must tell the council by submitting an outline plan of works. Wellington City Council says a requiring authority does not need resource consent for a project that breaks District Plan rules, as long as the project is for the designated purpose and complies with the designation conditions; instead it submits an outline plan or asks for an outline plan waiver.^[2][7]

Section 176A of the Resource Management Act 1991 says the requiring authority must submit an outline plan of work to be constructed on designated land to the territorial authority, so that the territorial authority can request changes before construction starts. The outline plan must show the height, shape and bulk of the work, its location on the site, the likely finished contour of the site, vehicle access, circulation and parking, the proposed landscaping, and any other matters to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects on the environment. The section also applies to work a territorial authority plans to construct on designated land.^[1]

Under section 176A(2), an outline plan is not needed if the work has been otherwise approved under the Act, if its details are already incorporated into the designation, or if the territorial authority waives the requirement. Wellington City Council says waivers are for works that do not necessarily need an outline plan, such as replacing windows or building outdoor stairs at a school, and that it decides after considering the nature and level of the works and their likely effects.^[1][3]

An outline plan is not a resource consent. Auckland Council says the work should fit the use of the site set out in the designation, such as a classroom on a site designated for the Ministry of Education, and that if it does not, the requiring authority (for example Spark or Watercare) needs a resource consent instead. Wellington City Council says building projects on designated land still need a building consent before building work can begin.^[2][7][3]

An outline plan or waiver in a council's list shows that a requiring authority submitted a plan or asked for a waiver, not that the council accepted it.^[2][3]

Under the Planning Act 2026, a designation in place immediately before the specified transition date will be treated from that date as a designation under Schedule 5 of that Act, on the same terms and conditions, and an outline plan of works in effect immediately before that date will be treated as a construction project plan. The continued designation stops having legal effect when the relevant land use plan under that Act becomes operative. The specified transition date is a date to be set by Order in Council, for the whole country or for particular regions or areas.^[8][9]

What neighbours can do

Both councils say the public cannot make submissions on an outline plan. Auckland Council says the exception is when it publicly notifies the initial move to designate a site for a specific use. Wellington City Council says outline plans are not open for submissions from members of the public or affected parties.^[2][7]

Auckland Council says designations are identified in chapter K of the Auckland Unitary Plan. Wellington City Council says designated areas are shown on its District Plan maps and that its schedule of designations gives specific details, such as any restrictions or provisions in an area.^[2][7]

Notification

Section 176A has no public or limited notification step and no submission process for an outline plan. Within 20 working days after receiving an outline plan, the territorial authority may ask the requiring authority to make changes, but must not ask for a change that is inconsistent with an infrastructure design solution the work relies on.^[1][2][7]

If the requiring authority decides not to make the requested changes, section 176A(5) lets the territorial authority appeal to the Environment Court within 15 working days after being notified of that decision. The Court must consider whether the requested changes will give effect to the purpose of the Act and to any infrastructure design solution the work relies on.^[1][2]

In Auckland

Auckland Council says it needs 20 working days to assess an outline plan and may ask the requiring authority to make changes. Its fee schedule lists an outline plan of works and a waiver of outline plan as separate application types.^[2][10]

In Wellington City

Wellington City Council says it takes up to 20 working days to assess an outline plan and that it may contact the requiring authority to recommend changes. It says that if the requiring authority has not received confirmation after 20 working days, and the council has not formally extended the time frame, the authority can start work on the site.^[3]

Wellington City Council says an outline plan waiver usually takes fewer than 20 working days to assess, and recommends that a requiring authority discuss a waiver with it before asking for one.^[3]

Read the council's own guidance

• Designations and outline plans, Auckland Council
• Outline plan of works on designated land, Wellington City Council
• Designated land for public works and network utilities, Wellington City Council
• Resource Management Act 1991, section 176A: Outline plan, New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)