Who can comment
The panel must invite written comment from some people or groups listed in the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 (the Act). The Act does not allow panels to give public or limited notification for comments. The people and organisations invited to comment are:
relevant local authorities
relevant iwi authorities
Treaty settlement entities relevant to a project area
relevant protected customary rights holders and customary marine title holders (and applicants), tangata whenua in relation taiāpure or mātaitai reserve, and ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou where the application relates to ngā rohe moana o ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou
the owners and identifiable occupiers of land where the project is located and the adjacent land
Guidance: identifying adjacent land (revised June 2025)the Minister for the Environment and other relevant portfolio Ministers
relevant administering agencies including Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, the Environmental Protection Authority, Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga, Ministry of Primary Industries, Department of Conservation, and Land Information New Zealand
any requiring authority (a body authorised under the Resource Management Act 1991 to designate land for specific public works) that has a designation on land where the project is located or the adjacent land
other relevant persons and groups defined in the Act for specific approvals
any persons or groups specified by the Minister in the accepted referral application
any other person the panel considers appropriate.
Submitting your comments
Invitations to comment on an application will be sent via email or post. You have 20 working days from the date of the invitation to provide written comments.
We must receive your comments by the deadline. Please allow sufficient time for delivery. The panel is not required to consider any comments received after the deadline, or to grant an extension.
We receive written comments on behalf of the expert panel and send the comments on to the panel and the applicant.
Comments can be submitted:
by email (using the email address specified in the invitation letter/email)
in the Fast-track application portal (after receiving an invitation email)
by post (noting the application name) to Fast-track, Private Bag 63002, Wellington 6140.
Commenting at panel hearings
The panel is not required to hold a hearing, and no person has a right to be heard. However, if a panel decides to hold a hearing, the applicant, any person commissioned by the panel to write a report, and anyone who provided invited comments will be notified and advised they may appear and be heard.
Commenting on draft conditions and final decisions
If you have provided comments in response to the invitation, you will be provided a copy of any draft conditions and invited to comment on these before the panel makes its final decision.
You will also be provided a copy of the final decision. If you have provided comments in response to an invitation given under section 17(1), section 53(2), or section 35(1)(a) to (d) of the Act, you have a right to appeal the whole or a part of the final decision to the High Court only on a question of law.