As the principal piece of environmental legislation, the Resource Management Act and the decisions made under it by local authorities and the Courts impact individuals and businesses, particularly farming businesses, potentially in very tangible ways. The RMA seeks to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water.

Under the RMA almost all significant uses of land, air, and water resources are regulated by provisions in the RMA, or by rules in regional or district plans, or by decisions made on applications for resource consent. The “sustainable management” purpose of the RMA is paramount, with most decision-making expressly related back to this purpose which, along with a set of principles, is sometimes known as “Part 2”.

In March 2025, the Government confirmed that the RMA is to be replaced by two separate acts. These will be a Natural Environments Act (focused on managing the natural environment) and a Planning Act (focused on planning to enable development and infrastructure). The new legislation is intended to narrow the scope of the resource management system and the effects it controls, with the enjoyment of private property rights as the guiding principle and shifting from a precautionary to a more permissive approach.