Info: Te Poka Pū Māori provides information to help Māori participate in the Fast-track process.
Notification and consultation before applying
Before applying, applicants must notify relevant iwi authorities, hapū and Treaty settlement entities as listed in the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024. These parties have 20 working days to respond, and an application cannot be lodged until this timeframe has expired.
Applicants must consult any relevant applicant groups with applications for customary marine title under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011. Applicants must consult ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou if the project area is within or adjacent to, or the project would directly affect, ngā rohe moana o ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou.
These pre-application notification and consultation requirements also apply to a substantive application for a listed project.
Referral application stage
The Minister for Infrastructure decides whether the project should be referred to the substantive stage of the Fast-track process.
This involves inviting comments on the referral application from relevant iwi authorities, hapū and Treaty settlement entities and other relevant Māori groups.
Land exchange
Before lodging a substantive application, projects seeking approval for a land exchange must lodge their application with the Department of Conservation (DOC).
This involves DOC inviting comments on the proposed land exchange from relevant iwi authorities, hapū and Treaty settlement entities and other relevant Māori groups.
Substantive application stage
An expert panel decides whether to grant or decline approvals sought in an application, and whether to impose conditions.
Expert panels may invite comments on the application and draft conditions, or request further information about the application, from relevant iwi authorities, hapū and Treaty settlement entities and other relevant Māori groups.
Contribution fees
Māori groups may be eligible to claim a contribution fee if they have been invited to comment on an application and they provide comments in response. This contribution fee does not apply for pre-lodgement consultation requested by applicants.
Read about this fee and how to claim it in Te Poka Pū Māori | the Māori Information Hub: