What is a unitary authority?
A unitary authority is a single council that holds both the district or city council functions and the regional council functions for its area. Five already work this way: Auckland Council, Gisborne District Council, Marlborough District Council, Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council.
It matters now because the Government's stated expectation under the current reforms is broadly one unitary authority per region, with larger regions possibly having more than one. For a council, it means combining two sets of statutory responsibilities that have sat in separate organisations with separate cultures.
What was the Head Start pathway?
Head Start was the Government's window for city and district councils to propose their own reorganisation into unitary authorities. It was announced in May 2026 and closed on 9 August 2026. Regional councils could not submit a proposal, although regional functions sit inside any unitary model.
Councils that are not included in an accepted proposal move into the Backstop process instead.
What is the Backstop process?
The Backstop is the route for councils not covered by an accepted Head Start proposal: rather than the councils proposing an arrangement, the Government proposes it for them.
Environment Canterbury's summary of the reforms describes regional councillors being replaced at the 2028 elections by an interim body, such as a board of mayors, Crown commissioners or a mix of the two. Arrangements will vary by region and depend on the legislation, which has not been introduced.
When will amalgamated councils exist?
The published timetables point to new structures arriving only after the October 2028 local elections. Whangārei District Council has published a timeline showing a Cabinet decision from September 2026, consultation from October 2026 to March 2027, a final proposal in March 2027 and legislation in early 2028.
That is one council's published indication rather than a national schedule, and regions will differ. What they share is a long stretch in which the shape of the future organisation is unsettled, followed by a short one in which it has to work.
How many councils will there be after 2028?
Nobody can tell you yet, and anyone who gives you a number is guessing. There are 78 local authorities today: 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities. Cabinet has not published decisions on the Head Start proposals, the Backstop legislation has not been introduced, and no reorganisation has been confirmed.
The Government's expectation of broadly one unitary authority per region is a direction of travel, with no count attached. Larger regions may end up with more than one, and the final count depends on decisions still to be made.
What is the rates cap and when does it start?
The Local Government (Rates Capping) Amendment Bill would require councils to consider a target range of 2 to 4 percent for annual rates increases when preparing long term plans from 1 July 2027, with a maximum of 4 percent taking full effect from 1 July 2029.
It passed its first reading on 1 September 2026 and the select committee reports back in February 2027, so the settings may still change. Councils preparing the 2027 to 2037 long term plan are already modelling what the proposed settings could mean for them.
Can a council get an exemption from the rates cap?
The Bill as introduced provides for exemptions in exceptional circumstances, with an independent regulator monitoring compliance and assessing applications. The Government has given natural disasters as an example of the kind of circumstance it has in mind.
The detail sits with the select committee, which reports back in February 2027. Until then, treat the exemption route as a proposal rather than a plan, and model the capped range as your working assumption.
Does the rates cap apply to water charges?
No. The Government's proposal covers general rates, targeted rates and uniform annual charges, and excludes water services charges and other revenue that is not rates.
For councils that have moved water to a CCO, that means water charges are invoiced separately and sit outside the capped figure. It moves part of the cost off the rates bill and onto a separate one, so the pressure on households stays the same.
Can efficiency savings meet the rates cap?
Not on their own, in the councils that have published numbers. Hutt City Council has said it needs to save about $24 million a year by 2034 to meet the proposed 4 percent cap, and that savings of that size cannot be made without fundamental changes to the services it provides and a reduction in the assets it owns.
Process improvement still earns its place. It only counts toward a cap when a saving removes a cost the council pays, rather than releasing staff time that gets absorbed back into the same team. Those two things get confused often enough that finance teams are right to test every claimed saving against the budget line it is supposed to change.
What is the status of Local Water Done Well?
44 councils chose a council controlled water organisation and 23 chose an in-house model. 5 organisations began operating on 1 July 2026, and about 13 more were expected to follow within a year. Every council has to reach financially sustainable water services by 30 June 2028.
The transfer itself is the visible part. The question that follows it is whether the rest of the organisation still fits its revenue mix, its technical depth and its share of corporate overhead once water has gone.
When do the Planning and Natural Environment Bills become law?
The Government aims to pass both bills in 2026. They were introduced on 9 December 2025 and reported back by the select committee on 20 July 2026, and until they pass, the Resource Management Act still applies.
The staging matters more than the passing date. National direction is expected within nine months of enactment, with further standards through 2027, and more than 100 existing plans become 17 regional combined plans. A Planning Tribunal is expected in mid 2027.
What does the RMA replacement mean for consenting teams?
Officials estimate that up to 46 percent of consent and permit applications could no longer be required under the new system, between 15,000 and 22,000 a year on 2023/24 volumes. That is a national estimate of applications, made before the settings were final, and it is not a staffing number for any individual council.
A local result depends on the council's own application mix, the enacted legislation, national direction and the functions it performs. Model your own application types and the staff effort behind them before making any establishment decision.