Receipt of an application

Abstract

The receipt of an application is the first important step in the resource consent process, which starts the statutory 'clock ' ticking. Several sections of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) relate to what an application must contain before it can be considered for 'receipt ' and the time frames that apply once an application is accepted as being 'received '. These include ss88, 88B-88E, 95, 101 and 115 of the RMA.

This guidance note provides guidance for pre-acceptance checks, incomplete applications, receiving applications, and how to formally notify applicants of the receipt of their application.

Guidance note

Pre-acceptance checks
Incomplete applications
Receiving the application
Advising the applicant of formal receipt and the process from this point

Pre-acceptance checks

Before an application can be formally 'received ' it needs to be checked to ensure it is complete. Checking the applications at the outset will improve the quality of applications and help identify and clarify early on in the process if any necessary information is lacking.

The initial check of an application should ensure that it is in the prescribed form and manner and includes an adequate Assessment of Environment Effects (AEE) in accordance with Schedule 4 of the RMA and all information required by regulations (including national environmental standards).

This check needs to be thorough; however, the check should not examine the accuracy of the information, or be an assessment under ss95 or 104 of the RMA. The check is for completeness in terms of the requirements for an application specified in s88(2) of the RMA.

As lodging the application starts the statutory clock ticking, it is critical for councils to only receive applications that contain required information. This is particularly important as the RMA:

limits the times that a request for further information under s92 can stop the statutory clock (once before submissions close and once after submissions close)
limits when s37A can be used to extend the time frames without the applicants permission to only when special circumstances apply (the applicant's permission must be obtained if the time frame is more than doubled)
will require councils to adopt a discount policy for resource consent charges where the consent is not processed within statutory time frames and the council is responsible.

It is therefore important to undertake the pre-acceptance check of the detail in the application against the information requirements in the plan, any checklists, regulations (including national environmental standards) and the RMA. The checklist should include a review of the AEE to ensure that the detail provided corresponds with the scale and significance of the environmental effects from the proposed activity and also meets the particular (AEE) requirements of a councils plan(s). It would be helpful to have the checklist cover the information needed to comply with regulations (including national environmental standards). For over-the-counter applications, it is helpful to go through the checklist with the applicant.
It will generally be appropriate to accept an application as being complete if the following information is provided:

fee to cover fixed charge, or deposit application fee
completed resource consent application form (Form 9 (MS Word 39 KB)) including:

the applicant's name and contact details
the site owner 's name and contact details (if different from the applicant details)
description of the activity
location of the activity, including legal description or map reference
type of consent sought and other resource consents required and whether they have been applied for
an AEE in such detail that corresponds to the scale and significance of the effects from the proposed activity and which addresses the matters outlined in Schedule 4
any information required to be included or matters to be addressed by any plan, national environmental standard or regulation
site plan, elevations, cross-sections and any other plans required by council
an up-to-date title for the site
date and signature of the applicant or whoever is acting on the applicant's behalf.

The applicant, not the council officer, is responsible for providing complete, accurate and appropriate information with an application.

Incomplete applications

Section 88(3) of the RMA states that, if an application does not include an adequate AEE or the information required by regulations, a council may determine the application incomplete within five working days after it is first lodged. If decided as incomplete, the application needs to be returned to the applicant with written reasons for the decision.

Under s357(3) of the RMA the applicant can object to a determination made under s88(3) that an application is incomplete. Therefore it is important to use practical judgment to determine whether the information supplied is complete and to explain that judgment in writing to the applicant.

If there is a minor information deficiency only, it is good practice to contact the applicant and provide an opportunity for providing the missing information as soon as possible. This can avoid the administrative burden and time delay involved in returning the application.

Returning incomplete applications may encourage a better quality application, help avoid repeated further information requests and increase the likelihood that statutory time frames are met.
Example: Letter accompanying the return of an inadequate application to the applicant (MS Word 26 KB)

Ways to ensure that adequate information is provided in the application include:

clearly specifying information requirements in the relevant plan
having a checklist or other guidance available for applicants and ensuring that any checklists have been completed by the applicant
providing different forms for different consent types (eg, subdivision, stormwater discharge) so that the specific information required for that type of consent is known to the applicant
using support structures such as internal guidelines, group discussions, meetings and independent auditing to ensure a consistent approach to checking for completeness
arranging a pre-lodgment or pre-application meeting with the applicant to assist both the planner and applicant's understanding of the application and information requirements
ensuring the applicant understands the pre-acceptance check does not assess the merit of the application but ensures the required information is provided and the AEE is adequate
giving the pre-acceptance check an appropriate amount of resourcing and priority in the resource consent process. As the pre-acceptance check is often likely to save time later on once the application is received, ensure that there is sufficient staff and private office space available
providing a written statement of what is missing so that the pre-application check does not have to be repeated when the application is re-lodged.

In some instances an applicant may lodge more than one resource consent application concurrently in a 'bundle '. If one or more of the applications is incomplete this may present an issue for council about how to treat the other applications that are complete. This is discussed in the current challenges in practice section below.

Use a processing sheet to record an application 's progress once the application is accepted (refer to Consent processing - administration). Also see the example checklist for applicants (MS Word 40 KB) that can be used by council staff to determine the adequacy of information for receiving the application.

Receiving the application

Once the application has been lodged, checked and determined to contain adequate information, it is formally 'received '.

If the application is deemed incomplete, then it should be returned to the applicant within five working days of lodgement. Should the application be lodged again with the additional information then it is treated as a new application.

The RMA allows five working days to check an application for completeness and adequacy. However, it is best practice to check the application within one full working day of it arriving at the council office because the time taken to check the application is fully included in the total working days allowed to determine the application and to notify the applicant of the decision, ie, if an application is not notified nor taken to a hearing and 5 working days are taken to check the application, then only 15 working days remain for processing the application. It may not be possible for more complex and detailed applications to check applications in one working day but it should be sufficient with respect to minor applications. It also provides an opportunity for applicants to address any minor matters that might be discovered during the checking process.

Advising the applicant of formal receipt and the process from this point

It is good practice to advise the applicant that the consent application has been formally received and that processing has commenced as soon as possible and no later than five working days after lodgment. This should be in writing and include the date on which the application was formally received.

The letter should also inform the applicant of the process from this point, in particular stating the difference in processing times between an application that is publicly notified, limited notified and non-notified. This letter should also advise the applicant that:

further information may be required and that for non-notified applications the processing clock will stop for the first request and, if the application is notified, it may be stopped a second time if another further information request is made after the close of submissions
council may decide to commission a report on any matter relating to an activity which the council considers may have a significant adverse environmental effect
if a further information request or request to commission a report is ignored or refused then the application may be publically notified
when additional fees may be charged and how this will be calculated
in the event of the application not being processed within statutory time frames, a discount policy will apply from July 2010 for those applications where council is deemed to be responsible for not meeting the time frames
if the application is notified, a request for the application to be directly referred to the Environment Court can be made from the date the application is received up to five working days after submissions close. The process and time frames for the council decision on such a request should also be outlined.

Finally, it is helpful to give the applicant a council contact name and telephone number should there be any questions. Where possible, the contact details provided should be of the council officer processing the application.

Example: Acknowledgement of receipt letter (MS Word 29 KB)

Forms and checklists

Case law

Epsom Normal School v Auckland City Council A011/95 - case regarding the importance of clearly describing an activity for which consent is sought.

Relevant websites

The Environmental Defence Society site provides information for the applicant on lodging, processing and receipting applications. See Environmental Defence Society 's Processing of Resource Consent Applications.

The Christchurch City Council site has information on the cost and process of resource consents. See Christchurch City Council's Resource Consent (planning) page.

The Environment Canterbury site has information on lodging, processing and receipting applications. See Environment Canterbury 's Resource Consent 's page.

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Current challenges in practice

Avoiding unreasonable delay

It may not always be possible to check each application for adequate information as soon as it arrives, due to the heavy workloads of council staff. Consequently delays may often occur beyond the suggested best-practice one-day time frame. This is a particular issue for complex applications where the AEE must be checked thoroughly to ensure the detail provided corresponds to the scale and significance of the effects.

Where planners may not be sufficiently available for this job, it may be helpful to up-skill administration staff so they can at least address the fundamental information requirement checks - such as application forms being filled out correctly and certificates of title being supplied. Planners can then concentrate on assessing the adequacy of the AEE once the application is passed to them. These processes should help to avoid delays and administrative burden later in the process once the processing clock has started. Refer to Consent processing - administration for more information.

Rejecting and returning applications

Checking the applications at the outset will assist with the quality of applications and will also clarify early on in the process if any basic information is lacking. This process is critical to allowing consents to be processed within the statutory time frames.

It is important that practical judgement be applied when deciding if an application is complete or not. Alternatives to returning the full application may be considered for certain minor information deficiencies that can be speedily rectified (eg, fees, certificate of title, and so on). Where possible, only return the application if the missing information cannot be quickly supplied in response to a phone call. The council should be consistent and efficient in dealing with simple pieces of missing information and should have internal guidelines or checklists to assist with this process.

Councils should develop internal guidelines or checklists to help them determine whether the AEE is adequate in an efficient and consistent manner and includes any specific matters required by a councils plan(s). This is particularly important for complex applications where it may take some time to check through the AEE to ensure the level of detail corresponds to the scale and significance of the effects. Councils should return applications with inadequate detail within the AEE. When returned, the application should be accompanied by clear, written reasons that justify that decision and help the applicant provide the necessary information.

'Bundled ' resource consent applications and s88

In some instances an applicant may submit more than one resource consent application to council concurrently, which is known as 'bundling '. A challenge in practice arises about how council should treat the bundle of applications if one or more of the applications is found to be incomplete but the rest are found to be complete?

For example, Tasman District Council is a unitary authority that routinely deals with bundles of consents for matters such as subdivision, earthworks and stormwater. If for example the subdivision and earthworks applications passed the s88 check but the stormwater application did not, how should the bundle of applications be treated?

In such an instance, it is considered important that the council send a clear message that incomplete applications will not be received. Therefore, the council should return inadequate application(s) under s88(3) to the applicant. It would likely be administratively inefficient to also return the application(s) that were deemed complete and therefore these could be held under s91 until the other applications are rectified and lodged again. The clock stops under s88(E) while the council is awaiting related applications under s91.

However the ability to use s91 could depend on how closely linked the applications are. If closely related it is recommended to use s91 as any changes necessary to one application once it 's returned could also affect the others. Receiving them all together would ensure council officer 's time is not being spent assessing applications that may be subject to change and would enable the proposal to be assessed as a whole. However if the applications are not integral to each other the applications deemed complete may be able to be processed without being placed on hold. This could be a challenging judgement call for councils to make.

This Guidance Note was updated in October 2009 by Jerome Wyeth of Hill Young Cooper Ltd and MfE.

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