Actions you need to take for the referral pathway
If you are seeking referral for your minerals or petroleum mining permit application into the Fast-track process, you need to make a referral application.
Before you can do this, you need to carry out the following steps.
Check if your project is eligible to use the Fast-track process
Projects must have regional or national significance to be considered for the Fast-track process.
In addition, to apply for a mining permit for 1 or more deposits of 1 or more minerals, you must:
- hold an exploration permit relating to those minerals issued under the Crown Minerals Act 1991 (CMA), or have an existing privilege as defined in the CMA, such as a mining licence
- have more than three months remaining on your exploration permit, or existing privilege, before it expires, when applying for a substantive application
- be applying for an area of land that is within, or the same as, the area of land to which those exploration permits, or existing privileges, apply
- propose that those exploration permits, or existing privileges, be surrendered in relation to the area of land over which the approval is sought
- propose that the term of the approval is no more than 40 years.
You must ensure that your application does not include an activity that will make it ineligible. Read about the meaning of an ineligible activity in the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 on the New Zealand Legislation website.
Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 — legislation.govt.nz
Understand the options for applying for a mining permit
You have two options for applying for a mining permit. You can either:
- apply for a mining permit and multiple approvals under the Fast-track process, or
- apply for a mining permit under the existing CMA process and apply for other approvals either through the Fast-track process, or through existing relevant regulatory processes.
Read more about applying for a minerals or petroleum mining permit under the CMA process.
Apply for a minerals mining permit
Apply for a petroleum mining permit
Understand the costs for using the Fast-track process
The Fast-track process is a user-pays system, meaning that we recover costs for the time New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M) staff spend providing advice on Fast-track mining permit applications.
Fees
You will be required to pay the following fees:
- Pre-lodgement consultation fee. NZP&M will invoice you for this fee.
- Application fees. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) will invoice you for these fees. Read more about these on the Fast-track website.
Fees, charges and cost recovery — fasttrack.govt.nz
Fees are set to cover the actual and reasonable costs associated with processing each application. The fee is charged on an hourly rate (excluding GST) and the amount depends on the expertise of the NZP&M staff member assessing the application.
We will consider efficiency and cost effectiveness when allocating staff members.
The fee covers direct, indirect and overhead costs. Direct costs account for approximately 60% of the total fee and include staff costs for time spent working on the applications. Indirect and overhead costs account for approximately 40% of the total fee and include systems and information costs required to support the Fast-track process.
The table below sets out the fees.
| Role | Hourly fee (excluding GST) |
|---|---|
| Manager | $333 |
| Team Leader, Principal Advisor | $220 |
| Senior Advisor | $187 |
| Advisor | $138 |
| Administrator | $108 |
Look over the application form
Read through the application form so you understand what information you need to provide. The application form is found on the Fast-track website.
Referral application to use the Fast-track — fasttrack.govt.nz
Complete pre-lodgement consultation
Pre-lodgement consultation involves consulting with relevant organisations about your project, to help you understand what you need to include in your application. You will need to provide confirmation that you have consulted as part of your application.
NZP&M is one of the organisations you must consult with. Others may include relevant local authorities and any relevant iwi authorities, hapū and treaty settlement entities.
Note that pre-lodgement consultation is just that - a consultation phase. The organisations, including us, cannot make decisions about your project. Their role is to provide information only. Decisions on referral applications are taken by the Minister for Infrastructure.
Read more about the consultation requirements for referral applications in the Fast-track Approvals Act.
Consultation requirements for referral application, Fast-track Approvals Act — legislation.govt.nz
Contact us to arrange a pre-lodgement consultation meeting
Consultation with us occurs at a pre-lodgement consultation meeting. You must contact us to arrange the meeting.
At the meeting you will be expected to tell us about your project and your application. We will let you know ahead of the meeting the type of information we would like you to cover. This will vary depending on the type of approvals being sought and our familiarity with the project.
As a guide, we are likely to be interested in an overview of the information specified by clause 15 of Schedule 3 of the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.
Clause 15 of Schedule 3, Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 — legislation.govt.nz
The meeting is also a chance for us to provide information to you. This will include giving you feedback on your project and highlighting areas you may like to think about for your application. We will also explain our role in the Fast-track process and provide any other relevant information.
Contact NZP&M to arrange a pre-lodgement consultation meeting by emailing nzpam@mbie.govt.nz
Following the meeting, we will provide you with written feedback about your project, to further help you prepare your application.
Submit your referral application
Once you have completed pre-lodgement consultation, you can make a referral application.
The Minister for Infrastructure decides whether projects will be referred to the Fast-track process. NZP&M will provide comments/advice to the Minister as part of this process.
When you are ready to apply for referral, visit the Fast-track website to learn how to submit the application form.
Referral applications to use the Fast-track — fasttrack.govt.nz
Submit your substantive application
If the Minister for Infrastructure refers your project, you can submit a substantive application.
An expert panel considers the applications and decides if they are approved, declined or approved with conditions. NZP&M will provide comments/advice to the panel as part of this process.
Visit the Fast-track website to learn how to submit the application form.
Substantive application for resource consents and other approvals — fasttrack.govt.nz
Further information
If you have questions about pre-lodgement consultation, please contact nzpam@mbie.govt.nz.
If you have questions about the Fast-track process in general, including making a referral application, contact the Fast-track team.
Contact the Fast-track team — fasttrack.govt.nz
Fast-track Approval Act 2024 — New Zealand Legislation
Crown Minerals Act 1991 — New Zealand Legislation