Navigation Bylaw

This consultation is now closed.

Thank you for your feedback. Please check back here for updates on the bylaw.

Proposal to improve navigation bylaws and control

About the bylaw

Benefits of vessels on Auckland’s waterways

Vessels on Auckland’s waterways provide enjoyment, cultural experiences, sporting events and transport.

How people use these waterways

Every day, people use these waterways for activities such as boating, kayaking, waka ama, kiteboarding, swimming, fishing and transporting passengers and cargo.

About the Navigation Bylaw

The shared use of Auckland’s waterways brings risks. This can lead to fatalities, injury, crashes and property damage.

What the Navigation Bylaw does

The Navigation Bylaw 2021 makes rules about:

wearing personal flotation devices, like lifejackets

where certain boating activities are allowed.

approving on-water events and moorings

managing large vessels.

These rules help reduce the risk of:

accidents

nuisance

damage within Auckland’s waterways
loss of life.

There are also controls that set rules for how people can use certain areas of Auckland’s waterways.

You can find these at the end of the bylaw.

What we want your feedback on

We recently checked how the bylaw and control are working and identified some improvements.

We are proposing to:

require people on small boats to wear lifejackets while moving, to reduce the risk of deaths
add safety rules to manage new types of watercraft, like motorised hydrofoil boards and foil boards.
update older mooring licences to ensure everyone follows the same rules
include existing harbourmaster rules for the Ferry Terminal Basin to reduce conflict between ferries and cruise ships
create a no-go zone for powered boats near Auckland Airport to improve safety
create restricted areas in busy or sensitive areas, including:
- Horne Rock
- the Tāmaki River rowing area
- the Harbour Bridge
- Simpson Rock.
remove 14 access lanes that are rarely used.

Have your say

How you can have your say

There are three ways to have your say. You can:

complete the online feedback form
scan and email your completed form to navigationsafetybylawreview@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
post your completed form to:

Navigation Bylaw
Auckland Council
Private Bag 92300
Victoria Street
West Auckland
1142.

When you can have your say

You can have your say from Monday 4 May to Sunday 7 June 2026.

What happens next

We will present your feedback to local boards between June and July.

The Bylaw Panel will consider your feedback in August.

We will make a final decision and seek approval from the Governing Body in late 2026.

More Information

We make rules about the wearing of personal flotation devices and where certain vessel activities are allowed.
We set approval frameworks for on-water events and moorings, and sets specific rules for large vessels. These rules work to minimise the risk of accidents, nuisance and damage within Auckland’s navigable waters.

The existing rules are in the Navigation Bylaw 2021 (Bylaw) and Navigation Bylaw (Specific Areas and Conditions of Use) Control 2021 (Control).

We recently checked how the Bylaw and Control are working and identified improvements. The proposal is to make amendments to:

• Require the wearing of personal flotation devices (PFDs) on small vessels while underway to

further reduce the risk of fatalities

• Introduce rules to protect the public from risks associated with emerging technologies and

novel craft, for example, motorized hydrofoil boards, flight boards and tow foiling

• Make updates to legacy mooring licences to ensure all moorings licence holders are subject to the same terms and conditions for fair and equal use

• Include long-standing Harbourmaster Directions regarding the Ferry Terminal Basin to ease ongoing tension over space sharing between public transport ferries and cruise ships

• Establish an exclusion zone for powered vessels around Auckland Airport to address aviation and maritime safety risks

• Introduce exclusion zones to better protect high-use or sensitive areas, including Horne Rock, Tāmaki River Rowing Precinct, Harbour Bridge, and Simpson Rock

• Revoke 14 access lane controls that are rarely used by the public.