Summary of the Annual Plan 2026/2027 in English

Illustration of a group of council staff standing behind a large banner that reads “We’re getting on with it.”

We’re getting on with it

Our proposed Annual Plan 2026/2027 focuses on getting on with the third year of our Long-term Plan 2024-2034 (LTP). It aims to continue improving Auckland’s financial and physical resilience that we committed to in our LTP, while building a more efficient council focused on value for money for Aucklanders.

Achieving our priorities

For 2026/2027 we are prioritising investment in water and transport, and helping local boards meet the needs of their communities.

A major highlight is the expected opening of the City Rail Link (CRL). This will transform Auckland’s public transport and bring economic and environmental benefits to Auckland.

We will spend $3.9 billion on major building and infrastructure projects across Auckland, like:

roads
public transport
parks and community facilities.

We will also fund $5.3 billion for essential services and activities that Aucklanders use every day.

Changes to rates

We propose an overall rates increase of 7.9 per cent in 2026/2027 for the average-value residential property. This is the same amount as we planned in the LTP.

The increase is mainly due to the $235 million annual cost to run and own the CRL. Although the overall rates increase is higher than we would like, our focus on saving money and running Auckland Council Group efficiently has helped keep the increase lower than it could have been.

Shaping Auckland’s long-term future

Auckland Council will make several long-term strategic decisions next year and discussions on these will be opportunities to shape Auckland’s future.

Alongside our annual plan we are asking Aucklanders about their priorities and potential trade-offs to help us plan.

We also want your feedback on the future of Auckland’s city centre. This is the economic heart of the region, producing about one-fifth of Auckland’s total economic output.

The decisions made now will shape how well the city centre supports jobs, businesses, culture and daily life in the future.

We want to:

make public spaces work better for people
get more value from major investments in transport
make sure council support helps the city centre thrive as a place to live, work, study and visit.