Infrastructure Funding & Finance Act Changes

Recent changes to the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act (IFF) make it a more practical and flexible option for funding infrastructure needed to support growth and development.

At its simplest, IFF can enable infrastructure to be financed upfront and the cost recovered over time from the properties that benefit. This can reduce reliance on council borrowing, existing ratepayers or substantial upfront developer funding.

For councils, developers and infrastructure providers, this creates another option where infrastructure funding is becoming a barrier to an otherwise viable growth or development outcome.

Where could IFF help?

The changes are particularly relevant as councils and developers navigate increasing infrastructure costs, constrained council balance sheets, Fast-track development and wider changes to New Zealand's planning and infrastructure funding system.

Where a development is strategically appropriate but the question is “how do we fund the infrastructure?”, the answer does not necessarily need to default to waiting for council funding capacity or the next Long-term Plan cycle.

IFF may provide another pathway worth testing.

However, funding is only one part of the equation. IFF does not resolve questions around network capacity, infrastructure sequencing, affordability, operations and renewals, long-term asset ownership or whether development is strategically appropriate.

For development that is out of sequence, for example, resolving the funding question does not automatically mean the development should proceed. The wider infrastructure and planning case still needs to stack up.

Understanding the changes

We've prepared a short guidance document explaining how IFF works, what has changed and where it could be useful for councils, developers and infrastructure providers.

It is particularly relevant to growth planning, development strategy, infrastructure planning, Fast-track proposals and major greenfield development.

Read our Infrastructure Funding & Financing Act Changes guidance