Targeted amendments to concessions processes

Published:  

May 2023
This Regulatory Impact Statement provides an assessment of options to enable more proactive, transparent, and efficient concessions management through amendments to Part 3B of the Conservation Act 1987.

Summary

Processing applications under the current statutory framework can be slow and costly. This has contributed to a growing backlog of work and impedes prompt decision making, which results in delayed or missed access to concession opportunities.

This review sought to identify amendments to enable more proactive, transparent, and efficient concessions management. The focus of the review was on the processes for assessing concession applications and allocating concession opportunities, not the regulatory parameters determining which activities may or may not be permitted. Furthermore, options should not diminish DOC’s statutory ability to protect conservation values or limit DOC’s ability to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The four problems analysed in this Regulatory Impact Statement are:

  • The broad scope of activities requiring individual concession applications
  • Ambiguity in the initiation of competitive allocation processes
  • Inefficiency in competitive allocation processes
  • Open-ended reconsideration request timeframes.
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