The Compliance Plan is ORC’s roadmap of compliance priorities for the next 3 years. The Compliance Plan informs ORC’s work in accordance with our obligations under the Resource Management Act 1991, and the national compliance direction set for all regional councils under the Regional Sector Strategic Compliance Framework.

The Compliance Plan is used to inform our work programme. By monitoring progress against our priorities, ORC is agile in responding to those issues that are most important for Otago’s environment.

This policy sets out the approach and principles by which the ORC promotes and enforces compliance with the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and provides an outline of how RMA compliance and enforcement is managed. This policy is intended to ensure a consistent and integrated approach to compliance and enforcement by ORC.

The policy is aimed at ensuring a consistent approach by ORC to the use of warnings in appropriate circumstances, and when addressing conduct that may be an offence, any response taken will follow due process and public interest considerations, while at the same time not overburdening the Courts with matters that can be effectively resolved through other enforcement routes.