RMA Survey of Local Authorities

Every two years local authorities participate in a survey to examine key aspects of the Resource Management Act (RMA) process.


The survey provides:

  • information about local authority implementation of the RMA and
  • a measure of comparative performance.

View previous reports of the survey results.


The Ministry for the Environment has been surveying all New Zealand local authorities (regional, territorial and unitary) about their implementation of the RMA since 1996.


The 2010/2011 RMA survey was conducted a year later than originally scheduled. The delay intends to capture the initial effects of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act, which came into effect 2009.

 

The survey questionnaire was released to local authorities on 24 June 2010.  Responses were collected from 30 June to 30 July 2011.


View the 2010/2011 survey report.

Why do we do the survey?

The RMA survey:

  • helps the Minister for the Environment monitor how the RMA is being put into practice
  • highlights trends in implementation of the RMA, as well as areas where performance by local authorities may require greater attention
  • promotes good practice under the RMA and improve local authorities’ performance
  • enables each local authority to compare its performance with others
  • provides local authorities with information to more accurately respond to enquiries about RMA processes.


The RMA survey report provides information about key RMA processes such as:

  • the numbers and types of resource consent applications processed
  • the time taken to process them
  • resource consent application charges
  • monitoring, compliance, complaints and enforcement of consents
  • Māori participation in RMA processes
  • good practice by local authorities
  • the numbers and types of plan changes and variations.


The survey does not measure:

  • the performance of the RMA in delivering better environmental outcomes, or
  • how well individual local authorities deliver these outcomes – this measurement occurs through state of the environment monitoring and reporting at both the national and local level.


The comparisons drawn from this survey do allow us to:

  • identify local authorities that are complying with statutory requirements and recommended good practice
  • stimulate discussion about differences between similar local authorities
  • promote benchmarking and improvements in performance.

View previous reports

 

Last updated: 29 September 2011