Increasing the resource consent deposit fees will help reduce the potential shortfall between the initial deposit paid by the applicant and the final cost of processing a consent application. The current resource consent application deposit fees were last reviewed in 2018/19 and are based on the three tiers below (which are for applications that are charged by the hour, as per Schedule A of the Fees and Charges Policy).

The regional resource consent process involves several key steps to ensure that activities affecting the environment are managed appropriately. The benefit of increasing the deposit fees would mean that applicants receive a more realistic expectation of the total cost of their consent. Changes to deposit fees will not affect the total fees charged for resource consent application processing.

Please see the Guide to Resource Consent Process for more detail on what goes into the consent process/what the cost is for.

Additionally, the fee for Bore and Pump Test Fluid Discharge consents is proposed to be increased to cover actual and reasonable costs.

Table 1 - Proposed changes to Resource Consent fees

Fees	Current 2024/25 (incl. GST)	Proposed 2025/26 (incl. GST)
Tier 1 – Deposit Fee	$775	$1000
Tier 2 – Deposit Fee	$1770.00	$2500
Tier 3 – Deposit Fee	$2700	$4000
Fixed Fee for Bore Drilling and Pump Test	$485	$550

Following the Fast-track Approvals Bill becoming law at the end of 2024, a new fee is proposed for recovering the actual and reasonable costs of work associated with responding to Fast-Track Approval projects (as per staff charge rates in Schedule A of the Fees and Charges Policy).