Resource consent
authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (the "RMA")
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (the "RMA"). Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or be permitted activities authorised by rules in plans. Any activities that are not permitted by the RMA, or by a rule in a plan, require a resource consent before they are carried out.
Definition and nature
The term "resource consent" is defined as;
a permit to carry out an activity that would otherwise contravene a rule in a city or district plan.
a permission required for an activity that might affect the environment, and that isn't allowed 'as of right' in the district or regional plan.
A resource consent, once granted to an applicant, is neither real nor personal property. Therefore, resource consents cannot be 'owned'; they are 'held' by 'consent holders'.
Types
A resource consent means any of the following:
land use consent (Section 9 and 13)
subdivision consent (Section 11)
water permit (Section 14)
discharge permit (Section 15)
coastal permit. (Section 12)
Plan classifications
Regional and district plans may give an activity that requires a resource consent one of six possible classifications.
The above table is of a very summary nature, and exceptions apply in some circumstances.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Resource consent” as authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (the "RMA"). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (the "RMA"). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 26, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7315821. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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Three-step research path
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Resource consent” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.