The Government’s ongoing resource management reform programme has taken another step forward with the passing of the third reading of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill (Amendment Bill).

The Amendment Bill introduces substantial changes to the enforcement provisions in the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). We have identified the key changes to be aware of below, noting that most of these changes will come into force on Royal Assent which is expected shortly.

Significant increase in maximum penalties for RMA offending

The Amendment Bill significantly increases penalties for RMA-related offences:

• The maximum penalty for a company or other ‘non-natural person’ will increase from $600,000 to $10,000,000.

• The maximum penalty for a natural person will increase from $300,000 to $1,000,000.

However, the maximum imprisonment term for RMA offences will be decreased from two years to 18 months.

These changes will take immediate effect once the Amendment Bill receives Royal Assent.

Ban on insurance for environmental fines

The Amendment Bill prohibits any insurance or indemnity arrangements that cover fines or infringement fees under the RMA. This applies to both obtaining and providing insurance.

Breaches of this provision will constitute an offence and warrant a maximum fine of $50,000 for individuals and $250,000 for companies or other non-natural persons.

This ban does not apply to insurance against legal or remediation costs. It also will not come into force for two years following Royal Assent, meaning that parties will have until mid-2027 to change their insurance arrangements.

Non-compliance to become relevant for future consent applications and enforcement orders

Consent authorities will be empowered to consider an applicant’s history of environmental non-compliance under the RMA (including abatement notices, enforcement orders, infringement notices, and RMA-related convictions) when assessing new resource consent applications. Authorities may decline applications where there is a record of “ongoing or repeated” significant non-compliance. For individuals, only compliance issues from the past seven years will be relevant. No such limit applies for companies or other non-natural persons.

Ongoing or repeated non-compliance is also introduced as a new ground on which a local authority can apply to the Environment Court for an enforcement order to revoke or suspend a consent. This gives local authorities a new tool to address environmental breaches.

New grounds for cost recovery

Additionally, the Amendment Bill broadens local authorities’ ability to recover expenses from consent holders for compliance-related matters. In particular, local authorities will be able to recover costs for:

• Investigating suspected breaches of the RMA, a national environmental standard, a regulation, a rule in a plan, or a resource consent.

• Administrative charges associated with issuing abatement notices and enforcement orders, and monitoring compliance with such orders.

The governance of these costs remains unchanged, with little ability to challenge the charges but limits on how a local authority may impose them.

Implications

The Amendment Bill marks a significant shift in how compliance under the RMA is monitored, enforced, and factored into future consenting decisions. These changes elevate the importance of proactive environmental compliance.  For consent-holders, past non-compliance can now directly affect the success of future applications, while potential penalties for breaches have increased dramatically. The prohibition on insurance for fines adds further financial exposure, and is also of relevance to the insurance industry.

The Amendment Bill is expected to become law shortly, with most of the enforcement provisions identified above (except the insurance ban) taking effect immediately. Now is the time for consent-holders to assess their compliance and review insurance arrangements to be prepared for the new regulatory landscape.

For more information about the enforcement provisions in the Amendment Bill and potential implications, please reach out to one of our experts.

This article was co-authored by Harry Bird, Solicitor from our Environment team