Rārangi wā mō te whakatinana i te Tauākī Kaupapahere ā-Motu mō te Whakahaere Wai Māori

National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management implementation timeline

We are responsible for implementing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM). We will do this by changing the Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP).

Anticipated timeline for the plan change to AUP

The AUP timeline may be subject to change. It is difficult to determine exact dates so far out but we will keep this page updated with the latest information.

September 2020

National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPSFM) came into effect.

2021

Initial engagement with mana whenua.

June-July 2022

Phase one of public engagement with community and stakeholders. See AK Have Your Say for more information on the public consultation.

August-September 2022

We updated the public on the outcomes of our consultation.

Late 2022-2023

First amendment to the NPSFM 2020 published on 8 December 2022, comes into force on 5 January 2023.

We will continue talking to mana whenua and other key stakeholders. We will use feedback from mana whenua, the NPSFM 2020 consultation and other water-related consultations to develop our approach.

November 2023

We will ask the community to give us feedback on policy approaches we come up with.

Early 2024

We will use community feedback to develop a plan change for the AUP and action plans.

Late 2024

Public notified of plan change. Submissions will be open.

2025-2026

Formal plan change process takes place. This includes:

further submissions
public hearings
freshwater hearings panel recommendations
decisions.

More information

Email freshwaterplanning@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz for more information on implementing the NPSFM.

We are developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping viewer for information relating to the NPSFM implementation. We will update this page once it is available.