Public Works Amendment Bill
The government wants to change the rules around how the Crown and councils can take private land for public projects like roads, power lines, and flood recovery. The changes make the process faster and clearer. Landowners get better information upfront, more time to negotiate, and higher compensation payments if they agree to sell early. A new fast-track process lets the government acquire land quickly after emergencies like floods or earthquakes, using a simple order rather than rushing special laws through Parliament. Transpower (the company running the national electricity grid) also gets new powers to start land-buying steps directly.
What this affects
Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it, and the parts of the text that show it.
Landowners whose property is taken for public projects will be entitled to higher and broader compensation payments, including a bonus for agreeing to sell early.
New section 72DA provides for additional compensation to be paid, as an incentive, if an agreement is reached with a landowner to acquire land before a notice of intention to take the land is given.
amending section 72D(3) to make clear that if any of the owners of the land is entitled to a home-loss payment, other owners of the land would not be entitled to a land-loss payment.
an offer of compensation to be kept open for acceptance for a period of 3 months
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 26 January 2026.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.