Resource Consents » Applying for a consent » Assessing your application

Assessing your application

Accepting your application

Within five days of receiving your application, we’ll check it to make sure it’s complete. We will return it if:

  • It isn’t signed or dated
  • It doesn’t include an adequate assessment of environmental effects
  • It doesn’t include the required fee
  • You haven’t applied for all the consents you need.

Once we’ve accepted your application, we’ll write to let you know whether your application will be processed as non-notified, limited notified or publicly notified and tell you who will be dealing with your application. For notified consents, we’ll provide an estimate oflikely costs once westartprocessing your application.

How long will it take

The Resource Management Actspecifies the time allowed to process your application. For example, we must make a decision on non-notified consent applications within 20 working days of a complete application being accepted. If needed, we can extend the statutory time limits or put your application on hold, for example if, you need to get written approval from adversely affected people, or we need further information.

You can help reduce costs and avoid delays in processing your application if you:

  • consult everyone who may be affected by your proposal and get written approval if possible
  • fill in the application forms fully and include all the required supporting information
  • make sure you apply for all the resource consents needed for your activity
  • provide any additional information we ask for quickly and with the required detail
  • try to resolve any submissions that oppose your application (if it is notified)
  • get professional advice from an environmental consultant if your proposed activity is large or complex, may significantly affect the environment, or may attract major public interest.

To read more about processing timeframes download our Resource consent timeframesbrochure.

If we need more information

We may need you to provide more information about your proposal so that we can better understand the effects of your activity. We’ll ask for this in writing and put the consent process on hold while we wait for your response. If you wish you can formally object to our requests for further information.

To read more about how to lodge an objection download our Objections and appeals brochure.

Back to top