What the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill will do

The Resource Legislation Amendment Bill (Bill) has now been reported back and has the votes to pass. It has taken more than a year to get to this stage.

We report on what the Bill will do, and on the latest round of amendments.

National direction

The "National Planning Template" concept has survived the select committee process. The Committee has renamed these instruments "National Planning Standards", and clarified that they may prescribe both structural and content requirements for local policy statements and plans.

The Bill will also create a single process for preparing National Environmental Standards and National Policy Statements (now referred to as "national directions").