This page relates to the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
Work category 141 enables funding from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) for response and recovery works to address the impact of major, short-duration, sudden events that cause urgent safety and access problems on part(s) of the transport network and that result in unforeseen, significant expenditure.
Response means the initial work necessary to reopen a road or other transport facility, where practicable, for safe use, albeit at a basic level of service, or to minimise risk of further damage. This includes:
Recovery means the work to restore levels of service on a ‘like-for-like’ basis, or a reduced level of service.
Like for like means the modern equivalent of the transport infrastructure, not necessarily of the same material type or structural form, that meets current design standards to restore level of service.
Current design standards may include the following:
Resilience improvements are non-routine work to eliminate or reduce the risk of damage to transport infrastructure or interruptions to level of service including from an emergency event (see ‘Exclusions’ below for further information).
Work category 141 covers response works and recovery works relating to a qualifying event. This applies to transport infrastructure that is eligible for funding from the NLTF, including roading, rail, public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure.
Work category 141 is available to the following activity classes:
Local road and state highway operations (webpage yet to be reviewed)
Public transport services and infrastructure
Rail network (webpage yet to come)
You can discuss with us (NZTA as investor) whether other potential activities not listed above might also be eligible for inclusion in this work category.
An event that qualifies for NLTF funding as emergency works will:
Like for like is on the basis that the infrastructure is replaced in the same approximate location and includes the immediate approaches to the structure. This may include altering the alignment to allow off-line construction and/or improve safety and geometric performance of the structure in the network (approach lengths are limited to the distance necessary to safely transition to and from any new off-line alignment in accordance with the design parameters for the safe speed for the road classification).
We accept that restoration of level of service on a like-for-like basis may result in the infrastructure having a longer useful life than previously, due to the provision of new materials or a new structure.
Like for like excludes improvements such as an additional cycleway where there wasn’t one previously, or an improvement in resilience.
Work category 141 excludes:
For information on return period storm events, see the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) high intensity rainfall design system. A ‘return period’ in this context is the estimate of the period of time between high intensity rainfall events.
NIWA high intensity rainfall design system(external link)
Rainfall recorded at specific weather stations throughout New Zealand can be accessed through the NIWA Cliflo service. Users need to subscribe for this free service.
NIWA Cliflo service(external link)
The usual funding assistance rate (FAR) that applies to emergency works for qualifying events within each financial year is:
or
Note that the above enhanced FAR is under review and is subject to an NZTA Board decision with effect from 1 July 2025.
or
or
or
The NZTA Board has approved the application of a special FAR to all eligible initial response costs resulting from the January 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend flood events and Cyclone Gabrielle (together known as the North Island Weather Events – NIWE) and/or Cyclone Hale for approved organisations at a rate of normal FAR plus 40%, to a maximum of 100%.
For NZTA (for its own activities) and KiwiRail activities, the emergency works FAR is their normal FAR of 100%.
For the 2024–27 NLTP the special FAR applies only to completion of initial response works in relation to damage resulting from NIWE and/or Cyclone Hale that are either approved for funding prior to 30 June 2024. The initial response phase covers:
We (NZTA as investor) will apply the special FAR to initial response costs as follows:
Approved organisations are required to create their emergency works requests for these events by completing the template in Transport Investment Online (TIO) in the usual way for all years. We (NZTA as investor) will review the request and complete funding approval in the usual way.
All claims for payment under this special FAR arrangement are to be completed by 31 December 2024.
Transport Investment Online(external link)
The recovery phase (permanent reinstatement – work that is required to restore the road network to its former, or a similar, condition) is not included under the special FAR. Our current default position for funding of subsequent work (that is, post initial response) is that:
Note: the NZTA Board is yet to decide the FAR that applies to the Budget 2024 funding made available for NIWE in 2024/25. This page will be updated once a decision is made.
Approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) submit these activities using the emergency works template in Transport Investment Online (TIO). A separate activity needs to be set up in TIO for each event, with relevant documentation uploaded to support the application.
Transport Investment Online(external link)
For guidance on using TIO, see the TIO learning and guidance page on our website.
Transport Investment Online (TIO) learning and guidance
Emergency works activities for response and recovery costs do not need to be added to the relevant regional land transport plan (RLTP) prior to funding approval and will be added to the NLTP automatically on processing of an approval.
The NZTA Board acknowledges that extreme events or a series of large events can impact a local authority’s ability to raise local share to respond to those events. The NZTA Board will not consider providing NLTF financial assistance at a rate above the approved emergency works FAR policy (that is, a bespoke FAR arrangement) unless additional Crown funding becomes available that enables NZTA to provide financial assistance to an approved organisation.
We require that options for recovery will have been considered and the funding application should explain why the proposed recovery solution is proposed for funding. We may assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed solution.
In relation to uneconomic transport infrastructure, the requirements of the Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy must be met.
Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy
Responsibility for immediate responses/actions to ensure public safety and restore vital access rests with the approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities).
All applications for emergency works consideration and approval must apply for funding approval within a reasonable timeframe for response works. We recommend that, within 6 weeks for approved organisations or within 4 weeks for NZTA (for its own activities), an application for funding approval of response works must be entered into TIO. There is no time limit for an application for funding for recovery works, but recovery costs must not be incurred prior to obtaining funding approval.
Emergency works funding guide for approved organisations
The supplementary guidance below provides the step-by-step process how to apply for emergency works funding.
General conditions of funding that apply to emergency works.
The approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities) will ensure:
The enhanced FAR in relation to response and recovery costs is conditional upon the following:
At the end of each year, the emergency works approvals will be reconciled to claims. Any application that does not qualify as emergency works due to the total cost being less than $100,000 will be moved to work category 140 and its FAR adjusted. This will mean that the FAR for the remaining emergency works may also require adjustment in TIO. Any carryover to the following year will be added to any approved emergency works in that year and the appropriate FAR applied.
Work category 140: minor events
TIO will automatically carry over the unspent allocation every year. It is vital that approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) declare as surplus any unused allocation for completed approved emergency works activities by making a cost scope adjustment via the reviews module in TIO.