The Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 (the Act) is the biggest change to New Zealand consenting in a generation. It creates a single streamlined pathway for projects of regional or national significance — replacing what would normally have been several parallel consent processes under the Resource Management Act 1991, Conservation Act 1987, Crown Minerals Act 1991, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, Wildlife Act 1953 and Public Works Act 1981.
What changed
Three things, really:
- One application, one decision. An applicant lodges a single substantive package to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). One expert panel issues one decision covering all the consents the project needs. No more sequencing notified RMA, DOC concessions and Crown Minerals access on three separate timelines.
- A named list of pre-approved projects. Schedule 2 of the Act lists 149+ projects pre-approved to use the pathway, across infrastructure, housing, renewable energy and mining. Projects not on Schedule 2 can apply via referral.
- Compressed timelines. A Fast-track application typically runs 9 to 12 months from referral to decision. Standard notified RMA consenting on an equivalent project runs 18 to 36 months.
Who it’s for
The Act is built for projects where regional or national significance is genuinely demonstrable — large-scale renewables, master-planned housing, strategic infrastructure, significant mining and aquaculture proposals. It is not a back door for projects that would not get consent under the standard regime.
The applicant base, in practice, splits three ways: mid-cap developers with one critical project; in-house teams at capacity needing a contract project director; and iwi-led commercial entities running their own developments.
What it actually costs
The total cost of a Fast-track application is the sum of three buckets:
- EPA cost recovery — set under the Cost Recovery Regulations 2025. Typically $150k to $400k for a mid-size project. Can exceed $1m for complex multi-consent infrastructure.
- Specialist consultants — ecology, cultural impact, traffic, landscape, archaeology, geotech, economic. Typically $200k to $1m+ depending on project scope.
- Project management — coordinating all of the above. The hidden bill. A big firm bills partner rates at $400–$800/hr and a chunk of that is coordination, not technical advice. A boutique flat-fee approach lands the same coordination work for $80k–$250k.
The point of doing Fast-track well is that the speed is real — but only if the application is internally consistent on lodgement. Late information requests are the symptom of an under-coordinated package, not a feature of the system.