Costs agencies can recover
The Fast-track team will notify you when there is a new application to review as an administering agency. This notification will include the project number, the application phase (activity) you are reviewing, and the relevant application details.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) recovers costs directly related to the application from the application fee. Costs may be based on time spent, external advice procured, or other costs incurred in performing your functions in relation to an application. Costs must be actual and reasonable. The EPA will review costs and may query them before passing them on to applicants.
Your charge-out rates as a Fast-track agency will be published on the Fast-track website unless otherwise agreed.
Invoices and payments
Registering as a supplier
You must register as a supplier in order to recover costs.
New supplier registration form (DOCX, 220 KB)
Sending invoices to the Fast-track team
To recover costs, invoice the Fast-track team in a timely and regular manner (at least once a month).
Use the project number as the reference. There will not be a separate purchase order number for each application or activity.
Alongside your invoice, include a spreadsheet using the provided template, detailing the expenses and the application phase they relate to.
Expenses spreadsheet template (XLSX, 191 KB)
This file helps with reporting and dispute management. The transactions will be provided at a summarised level to applicants on a monthly invoice.
Please send your invoice to costrecovery@fasttrack.govt.nz
Paying invoices
The Fast-track team will make payments to you on a quarterly basis. Each payment will include costs that were invoiced 90 days before and are not in dispute.
We will let you know if an applicant disputes a transaction or their full invoice, and payment for these charges will be put on hold. We may require further information from you to assess the dispute. We will also provide you with a monthly statement.
Closing the application
We will advise you when a decision has been reached on an application or it has been withdrawn. You will have two months to submit any final costs. Late submissions could limit our ability to recover any further costs on behalf of your agency.
Post-decision support costs are not recoverable from the application fee – you will need to invoice the applicant directly for these.
Managing disputes
If an applicant wishes to dispute any costs, the EPA will manage the dispute. Agencies whose costs are disputed will need to contribute to this process.
This applies only to costs incurred during the referral and substantive application stages, not pre-application or post-decision, which you will manage directly with the applicant.
If a dispute cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the matter may be escalated through a legal process. Any costs associated with resolving a dispute cannot be recovered from the application fee.
Māori consultation groups
After an application has been as accepted as complete and is available for review, the Fast-track team will inform you and invite written comments on the application from you in your role as:
an iwi authority, hapū, Treaty settlement entity
party to Mana Whakahono ā Rohe or joint management agreements
tangata whenua of any project area subject to the Fisheries Act 1996
applicant groups of customary marine title, and where ngā rohe moana o ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou is directly affected.
An invitation to provide comments on an application will include the project number, the application phase (activity) you are reviewing, and the relevant application details.
Recoverable costs
The Fast-track team recovers a contribution to your costs directly related to the application from the application fee on your behalf as a Māori consultation group.
The Fast-track Approvals (Cost Recovery) Regulations 2025 sets out contribution fees, outlined in the table below.
Lower contribution | Higher contribution | ||
Applications relate to 1 or more approvals to which only 1 of Schedules 4 to 10 of the Act apply | Applications relate to 1 or more approvals to which more than 1 of Schedules 4 to 10 of the Act apply | ||
Referral | $1,500 | $2,000 | |
Land exchange | $1,500 | $1,500 | |
Substantive | $7,000 | $10,000 |
Fast-track Approvals (Cost Recovery) Regulations 2025 – New Zealand Legislation website
Sending invoices to the Fast-track team
To receive your contribution payment, please send an invoice with the project number as the reference. There will not be a separate purchase order number for each application or activity.
Please send your invoice to costrecovery@fasttrack.govt.nz
Payments are made on a monthly basis.