This guidance has been updated to include changes to the RMA as a result of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (RMAA20) which was enacted on 30 June 2020. For more information about the amendments refer to the RMAA20 Fact Sheets available on the Ministry's website.
Commissioners are delegated responsibility for carrying out statutory hearing and decision-making duties on a council’s behalf or as an independent adviser to the council in the making of those statutory decisions. It is vital that commissioners provide sound advice and /or make sound decisions without any conflicts of interest that could open the path for challenges.
This guidance note aims to provide best practice guidance to assist councils in appointing commissioners and developing a clear policy for using commissioners as part of the resource consent, plan making, plan change and notice of requirement processes.
This guidance note provides an:
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introduction into the role of a commissioner
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overview of the use of independent commissioners and elected member commissioners
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outline of the skills required of commissioners.
Click on the subheadings below to learn more about the use of Commissioners.