Better infrastructure funding tools for Fast-track projects
The Government is proposing changes to help councils recover infrastructure costs arising from developments approved through the Fast-track process.
Some Fast-track development applications are proceeding ahead of council infrastructure planning or relies on infrastructure that crosses council boundaries. This creates an issue of under-recovery of infrastructure costs, which can result in a funding shortfall that needs to be paid by ratepayers.
The Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill will amend the Local Government Act 2002 to provide councils with the tools to collect development contributions for developments approved under the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024.
The changes will allow councils to:
- update their development contributions policy in response to an approved Fast-track development to collect development contributions
- recover development contributions for cross-boundary developments, that place pressure on its network capacity, but are located outside its boundaries.
The Fast-track process under the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024 is not changing.
These changes are an interim step ahead of the proposed development levies system, for which legislation expected to be introduced in 2027.
Councils can find information about the current development contributions system and the Fast-track changes on our development contributions webpage.