Fast-Track Consents

Greater Wellington is not a decision-maker for applications that use the fast-track approvals process. Instead, decisions are made by the Minister for Infrastructure (for referral applications), or an expert panel (for substantive applications).

Once a referral or substantive application is lodged, Greater Wellington’s main role is to provide information and comments on the application to decision-makers.

Once a fast-track approval is granted for a resource consent, Greater Wellington’s role is to monitor the consent-holder’s compliance with any resource consent conditions and undertake enforcement if conditions are not met.  

Consent holders with resource consents granted under the Act can apply to Greater Wellington for a change of resource consent conditions under the RMA or apply to the EPA for a change of resource consent conditions using the fast-track approvals process. 

When the FTAA came into effect, a number of listed projects were identified as being eligible to submit a substantive application. These projects are listed in Schedule 2 of the FTAA. and do not need to submit a referral application. There are 12 projects in the Wellington region listed in Schedule 2. Read a summary of these projects. (PDF 240 KB) Information about these projects can be found on the Fast-track website. 

Before lodging a substantive or referral application, the FTAA requires that applicants consult with a range of parties, including Greater Wellington.

The FTAA does not prescribe any specific requirements for the form or duration of pre-application consultation. For consultation to be adequate, the opportunity for input must be meaningful. Greater Wellington expects that pre-application consultation would include, as a minimum:

• The applicant providing Greater Wellington with as much information about the proposal as they are able to. This would include the following:
  • a description of the proposal, plans or other drawings describing the proposal,  
  • an assessment of applicable rules in the Natural Resources Plan for the Wellington Region (including any Plan Changes) and any National Environmental Standards,  
  • an assessment of environmental effects,  
  • supporting technical assessments,  
  • information about how the proposal aligns with any other relevant statutory plans, policies or strategies prepared by Greater Wellington, and  
  • information on consultation undertaken with other parties (including mana whenua and other local authorities).
• Greater Wellington officers considering the proposal and providing feedback to the applicant. This may include feedback from subject matter experts on the proposal.
• The applicant indicating to us how Greater Wellington’s feedback will inform the development of the application.

The amount to time needed to undertake pre-application consultation will depend on the scale and complexity of the proposal. If you would like to arrange pre-application consultation with Greater Wellington, please get in touch at notifications@gw.govt.nz.

Greater Wellington will recover from applicants all actual and reasonable costs incurred during pre-application consultation, in accordance with Greater Wellington’s Resource Management Charging Policy (2024) (PDF 1.3 MB) . 

Applicants must consult with mana whenua before lodging a referral or substantive application.

Find out more about consulting with mana whenua on resource consent applications in the Wellington region. 

Section 30 of the FTAA requires applicants to notify Greater Wellington before they lodge a substantive application. When notification from an applicant is received under section 30, Greater Wellington is required to advise the applicant of whether there are any existing resource consent to which section 124C(1)(c) or 165ZI of the RMA applies in relation to the substantive application. 

If you would like to send a section 30 notification to Greater Wellington, please send this to notifications@gw.govt.nz. 

Greater Wellington will recover from applicants all actual and reasonable costs incurred in carrying out obligations under section 30, in accordance with Greater Wellington’s Resource Management Charging Policy (2024) (PDF 1.3 MB) .