There are a number of plans required or encouraged under various Acts which can affect activities and it can often be difficult to understand how they fit together and what they each do.

Under the Resource Management Act there are District Plans, Regional Plans, Regional Policy Statements and National Policy Statements (including a National Coastal Policy Statement). There are also Long Term Plans and Annual Plans of local and regional councils that can affect activities.

1. Essentially, Long Term Plans are strategic plans with a long time frame (twenty years or more). They may plan for virtually any matter of public interest and are not effects based. District and Regional Plans have a medium time frame (five to ten years), and may only include matters involving the management of natural and physical resources. Annual Plans are just that, plans for a year. Like Long Term Plans, they may cover virtually any matter of public interest.
2. Regional Policy Statements are to provide an overview of the resource management issues of the region and policies and methods to achieve the integrated management of natural and physical resources of the whole region. The Regional Land Transport Strategy and Regional Pest Management Strategy also provide policy and methods to achieve the integrated management of regional resources.
3. District plans are used to control the effects of land use in a District, generally via zoning and performance standards of each type of activity.

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