Receipt of an application
Abstract
Receipt of an application is the first important step in the resource consent and certificate of compliance process. Several sections of the Resource Management Act 1991 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'. Principally, these are sections 88, 88B, 88C, 95, 101 and 115. The following best practice advice provides guidance for pre-acceptance checks, receiving applications and how to formally notify applicants that their application has been received.
Guidance note
When is an application 'received'?
Pre-acceptance checks
Before an application can be formally 'received' it needs to go through a pre-acceptance check. This check ensures that both the appropriate information and sufficient information has been provided. It is not a thorough check of the information’s level of detail or accuracy, or an assessment under sections 93, 94 or 104 of the Act i.e. it is simply checking for completeness not correctness.
As lodging the application starts the clock ticking, it is critical for Councils to only receive applications that contain the required information. Make a point of checking the detail against the information requirements in the plan and the Act and any checklists. For over-the-counter applications, it is helpful to go through the checklist with the applicant.
It is good practice to accept an application as being complete if the following is provided:
- Fee/ deposit to cover preliminary fixed charge [application fee] - where applicable
- A completed Form
9 (MS Word 39KB) including:
- Name and address of applicant and owner/ occupier of land to which the application relates
- Type of consent sought and other resource consents required
- Date and signature of applicant or whoever is acting on the applicant's behalf
- Description of the activity and its location, preferably a legal description or map reference (See Epsom Normal Primary School Board of Trustees v Auckland City Council regarding the importance of clearly describing an activity for which consent is sought)
- Assessment of effects, recognising that a plan may specify matters to be addressed and that the Act recognises in Schedule 4 what this assessment should address (see D L Newlove Ltd v Northland Regional Council regarding an application being proportionate to the scale of environmental effects)
- Information required by a plan.
It is the applicant, not the Council Officer, who is responsible for providing sufficient and appropriate information with an application.
Section 88(3) of the Act specifies that where an application does not include an adequate assessment of environmental effects or information required by the regulations, then a council may, within 5 working days after the application is first lodged, determine that the application is incomplete. The working day count should be calculated from the first full working day after lodgement (see The timeframe 'milestones'). If this decision is made then the application should be returned to the applicant with written reasons for this decision. If the application is then resubmitted with the additional information required then the application must be considered as a new application.
Example: Letter accompanying the return of an inadequate application to the applicant (MS Word 26KB)
- Use good practical judgement at this stage of the process to determine whether the information supplied is complete.
- Ensure information requirements are clearly specified in the relevant plan.
- Have a checklist or other guidance available for applicants.
- Use support structures, group discussions, meetings and independent auditing to ensure a consistent approach.
- Lodgement meetings with the applicant can assist both the planners and applicant understanding of the application and information requirements.
- Ensure the applicant understands the pre-acceptance check is for information only and does not assess the information's detail or merit.
- Give the pre-acceptance check the utmost attention. If it is likely to take some time, have staff and private office space available.
- Ensure that any checklists have been completed.
- Provide 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.
Use a processing sheet to record an application’s progress (refer
to Using
processing sheets). See also the example
checklist for applicants (MS Word 40KB) which can also be used by Council
staff to determine if the information provided is adequate to receive the
application.
Receiving the application
Once the application has been given an initial check and has been determined that it contains adequate information for lodging, the application should be date-stamped and the processing 'clock' started from the day it is first lodged at the Council. Any timeframes must be calculated from this date.
It is good practice to check for completeness and adequacy then either return the application to the applicant, if it is deficient of all the required information, or, formally receive a consent application within one full working day of its arriving at the council office.
Advising the applicant of formal receipt and the process from this point
It is good practice to advise the applicant that their consent application has been formally received and that processing has commenced. This should be in writing and should state the date on which the application was formally received.
The letter should also inform the applicant of the process from this point, in particular telling them about the differences in processing times between an application that is notified/limited notified and one that is non-notified. The Council should also let the applicant know that the it may require them to provide further information and may charge additional fees.
Finally, it is helpful to give the applicant a contact name and telephone number should they have any questions. Where possible the contact name should be the council officer processing the application.
Example: Acknowledgement of receipt letter (MS Word 29KB)
Forms and checklists
Example: Acknowledgement of receipt letter (MS Word 29KB)
Checklist for applicants (DOC 40 KB)
Published June 2004
Example: Letter accompanying the return of an inadequate application to the applicant (MS Word 26KB)
Case law
Central Plains Water Trust v Ngāi Tahu Properties Limited [2008] NZCA 71 - an application for resource consent to take water which, although requiring water use applications could not, as filed, be rejected as a nullity, takes priority over a competing application (note: subject to Supreme Court appeal to be heard October 2008.
Relevant websites
The Auckland Regional Council website has a guide providing information on consent processes, such as establishing the need to make an application for a consent, making an application, what to include and processing an application. Go to Auckland Regional Council's Establishing the Need to Make an Application for a Resource Consent (PDF 157KB).
The Environmental Defence Society website provides information for the applicant on lodging, processing and receipting applications. Go to Environmental Defence Society's Processing of Resource Consent Applications.
The Christchurch City Council website has information on the cost and process of resource consents. Go to Christchurch City Council's Resource Consent Information Pack.
The Environment Canterbury website has information on lodging the application, processing applications and receipting applications. Go to Environment Canterbury's Applying for a Resource Consent.
Current challenges in practice
Avoiding unreasonable delay
It may not always be possible to check each application as soon as it arrives due to heavy workloads of council staff. Consequently delays may occur whereby applications may not be checked for adequacy or correctness within the suggested 'one-day' time line. Where planners may not be available to do this job all the time it may be helpful to up-skill administration staff so that they can at least address the fundamental information requirement checks – such as application forms being filled out correctly and certificates of title being supplied. This would then allow the planners to concentrate on assessing the adequacy of the environmental effects assessment only once the application is passed to them.
Rejecting and returning applications
This process has been formalised under the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003. While it may seem onerous for both the Council and the applicant, it is likely to assist with the quality of applications and will also clarify early on in the process any basic information that is lacking. Alternatives to returning the full application may be considered for certain aspects (e.g. fees). It is important that practical judgement is applied when deciding if an application is complete or not. Where possible only return the application if the missing information cannot be quickly supplied in response to a phone call. For example, if the applicant has forgotten to submit the deposit fee, then the Council Officer could phone them and get them to send it in to the Council rather than going through the formality of returning the application. The Council may decide to treat simple pieces of missing information in a consistent and efficient manner in all cases.
