Charges

The Resource Management Act 1991 puts in place a user pays cost recovery scheme. Section 36 authorises local authorities to fix charges, including those payable by:

• Applicants for the preparation or change of a policy statement for carrying out the local authority functions;
• Various parties in respect of a request under section 100A for a hearing by commissioner(s);
• Applicants for resource consents for carrying out the receiving, processing and granting of consents;
• People undertaking permitted activities for the monitoring of that activity; 
• Holders of resource consents  for carrying out the administration, monitoring and supervision of consents;
• Holders of resources consents for reviewing consent conditions in some circumstances;
• Requiring authorities and heritage protection authorities in relation to designations and heritage orders;
• Requesters of information in respect of plans and resource consents for providing information;
• Requesters of documents for supplying documents; and
• Any other charge authorised by regulations.

Charges must be “fixed”. This requires the identification of specific amounts or the identification of a scale of charges or other formula to calculate amounts. These must be set using the special consultative process set out in the Local Government Act 2002. ¹²⁵³  When fixing charges a local authority must also have regard to the following matters: ⁴⁵³⁹

• The sole purpose of a charge is to recover the reasonable costs incurred by the local authority; and 
• A person should only be required to pay a charge to the extent they obtained the benefit of the local authority’s actions distinct from the community as a whole; or
• A person should only be required to pay a charge where they created need for the local authority’s actions;
• A person should only be required to pay a charge in relation to monitoring  where it relates to that person activities or the benefit to that person exceeds that to the community as a whole.

The local authority does not need to perform the action to which the charge relates until the charge has been paid in full. ¹²⁵⁴

Where a charge which is fixed is inadequate to enable a local authority to recover its actual and reasonable costs the local authority may require an additional charge. ¹²⁵⁵  The local authority must have regard to the matters listed above when setting an additional charge. A local authority must provide an estimate of any additional charge likely to be imposed upon request. There are rights to objection to and appeal additional charges. ¹²⁵⁶

A local authority may remit the whole or any part of any charge in any particular case in its absolute discretion. ¹²⁵⁷

Last updated at 11:35AM on January 8, 2018