6 Jun 2025
Why this matters
For developers, landowners, and investors, the DC changes can have a significant impact on project feasibility and timing. Council’s intent is to ensure growth pays for growth, but the scale of the proposed increases triggered pushback from the development community, with concerns around affordability, housing supply, and transparency.
In response, Council made several adjustments, including dropping the 30-year collection model for some costs, updating infrastructure planning assumptions, and phasing in the cost increases.
CKL’s view
While the revised policy is more balanced, it still represents a major uplift in development costs, particularly in the city’s growth hotspots. Now is a critical time to assess project timelines, review budgets, and seek advice on how to align your development strategy with the evolving regulatory environment.
If you’re planning to lodge a consent or start a new project in Auckland, we’re here to help you navigate the changes.
There is still time to get your consents in before the implementation date if your project is in an area set to increase. Get in touch with the CKL team to discuss.
Auckland Council has now adopted its new Development Contributions (DC) Policy, which will come into effect from 1 July 2025. The policy outlines how Council will fund growth-related infrastructure across the city and represents one of the most significant changes to Auckland’s development landscape in recent years.
The policy is part of a 30-year, $10.3 billion infrastructure investment plan that focuses on high-growth areas like the Inner Northwest (Red Hills, Westgate, Whenuapai), Drury, Māngere, Mount Roskill, and Tāmaki.
What’s Changed?
Following strong feedback from developers, sector groups, and the public during consultation, Auckland Council has revised the original proposal:
- Revised DC costs:
- Investment Priority Areas (IPAs): Average of $48,000 per household equivalent (down from $68,000)
- Rest of Auckland: $20,000 (down from $32,000)
- Phased increases: DCs will rise by 2% annually to ensure early-stage developers don’t pay significantly less than later ones.
- Implementation delayed: The new policy now comes into effect 1 July 2025, giving developers more time to plan.
Why this matters
For developers, landowners, and investors, the DC changes can have a significant impact on project feasibility and timing. Council’s intent is to ensure growth pays for growth, but the scale of the proposed increases triggered pushback from the development community, with concerns around affordability, housing supply, and transparency.
In response, Council made several adjustments, including dropping the 30-year collection model for some costs, updating infrastructure planning assumptions, and phasing in the cost increases.
CKL’s view
While the revised policy is more balanced, it still represents a major uplift in development costs, particularly in the city’s growth hotspots. Now is a critical time to assess project timelines, review budgets, and seek advice on how to align your development strategy with the evolving regulatory environment.
If you’re planning to lodge a consent or start a new project in Auckland, we’re here to help you navigate the changes.
There is still time to get your consents in before the implementation date if your project is in an area set to increase. Get in touch with the CKL team to discuss.
