The law, in plain English.
This page is not legal advice. It explains the rules that govern a PC120 submission so you can write one that carries weight. For independent help, use Friend of Submitter on the Council PC120 hub. They are free and independent, they will not write your submission or tell you whether to support or oppose.
Your submission right
Under Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991, anyone may submit on a proposed plan change. You do not need to own property in the area or live in Auckland.
What a Form 5 submission must contain
Your identity, what the submission relates to, whether you support or oppose (and in part), your reasons, the decision you seek, and whether you wish to be heard. Council may strike out submissions that are frivolous, vexatious, offensive, or that do not specify the decision sought.
Effects-based planning
Relevant effects include natural hazards, infrastructure, amenity, urban form, historic heritage, special character as a qualifying matter under NPS-UD Policy 4, and significant infrastructure. Property value is generally not a relevant RMA consideration. Say so plainly: a submission built on house prices will be given little weight.
Immediate legal effect
Some PC120 hazard rules have immediate legal effect under RMA s86B(3). Intensification zoning does not mean a building is consented, resource consent is still a separate process. Do not assume a zone change equals a built outcome.
Hearings and appeal
Submissions go to an Independent Hearings Panel, which recommends to the Council's Governing Body. Final decisions are expected mid-2027. Appeal pathways are limited under the streamlined housing process, do not over-claim your appeal rights.
Privacy
Your name and contact details on a submission become public by law. If files exceed the online form limits (3 files / 20MB), email them to unitaryplan@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and reference your submission.
The honest test: a submission that says "I oppose PC120" with no street, no map, and no decision sought is close to worthless. The submissions that move zoning say: this parcel, this proposed height, this flood path, this amendment.