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NZTA Road Space Bookings: your questions answered

NZTA ran two webinars on Road Space Bookings before they became mandatory on 9 November 2026, and people asked a lot of questions. Most came back to the same few things: two RCAs on one job, the deployment sheet, deadlines, short-notice work and detours. Here are the answers we could find, each with its source. Where NZTA hasn't answered yet, we say so and tell you what we do know.

Each answer is marked NZTA answered when NZTA answered it at a webinar, In NZTA's guidelines when NZTA's Guidelines for road space bookings (October 2026) cover it, and Not answered yet when nobody has said yet. We've left out the names of the people who asked. New to bookings? Start with What is an NZTA Road Space Booking? The plain-English version.

On this page
  1. Two RCAs on one job
  2. The deployment sheet
  3. Booking rules and timing
  4. PARS and Early Access Requests
  5. Short notice, emergencies and small jobs
  6. Detours
  7. Still waiting on NZTA
  8. Questions
  9. Sources

Two RCAs on one job

The question asked most at both webinars.

Decision chart for a job that touches a state highway and a council road. First question: is any work or traffic management on a state highway? If no, only the council's own process applies, with no booking and no Early Access Request. If yes, who is the primary RCA on the TMP? If NZTA is primary, Road Space Bookings are made with the TMP, and the deployment sheet is still needed for now. If the council is primary, there are no bookings yet: send an Early Access Request for the state highway part, entering only its impact, and the deployment sheet still applies. Any work or TTM ona state highway? No Council's ownprocess only.No booking, no EAR. Yes Who is the primaryRCA on the TMP? NZTACouncil Road Space Bookingsmade with the TMP.Deployment sheettoo, for now. No bookings yet.EAR for the statehighway part, itsimpact only.Deployment sheetstill applies.
Which process applies when a job touches a state highway and a council road. Bookings follow the primary RCA on the TMP.

The council is the primary RCA, but some of my signs are on the state highway. Do I make a booking? NZTA answered

No. When another RCA is the primary on a TMP that covers two networks, bookings aren't used for that TMP, and at this stage bookings only work for worksites on the state highway network. You still send NZTA an Early Access Request for the signs on the state highway, and you only enter the state highway impact, not the impact on the local road.

Source: NZTA's webinar 1 Q and A overview; NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

Do I still fill in the deployment sheet for the state highway part? NZTA answered

Yes. Asked exactly this at the 4 November webinar, NZTA said the deployment sheet is still needed until it confirms it is being retired, network by network.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

Should I make NZTA the primary RCA so I can use bookings? Not answered yet

Asked at the 4 November webinar, and not answered in the chat. What NZTA did say: the primary RCA decides whether bookings are used, and NZTA is looking at the "edge cases" where signs need to go on the state highway. Until it says more, ask the RTTMC through myWorksites on your TMP.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

A one-way system on a local road and a lane closure on the highway: one TMP or two? NZTA answered

NZTA's answer: a TMP is needed for the lane closure on the state highway, and that TMP is where the booking for the state highway goes. NZTA said it will confirm how the two networks work together as more councils join.

Source: NZTA's answers in the 4 November webinar chat.

Which councils use bookings? NZTA answered

At 4 November NZTA was the only RCA using bookings. Auckland is opting in from 30 November 2026, and Invercargill and Southland are piloting them. Every other council still runs its own process: see its page in our RCA Library.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat; myWorksites Help Center.

The deployment sheet

Do I still fill in the deployment sheet? NZTA answered

Yes, alongside your bookings, for now. NZTA will drop it one network at a time, once enough worksites on that network use bookings and the site status updates (NZTA measures the share of worksites that do). There's no date yet. NZTA's reason: until nearly everyone books, the bookings alone can't show everything on the road.

Source: NZTA's answers in the 4 November webinar chat; webinar 1 Q and A overview and slide pack.

The booking deadline is 4pm Wednesday but the deployment sheet says 5pm. Which is it? In NZTA's guidelines

Both, for different things. Bookings must be in before 4pm on the Wednesday before the work week. The RTTMC deployment spreadsheet's own instructions say to email it to [email protected] by 5pm each Wednesday for the following week. A work week runs Sunday to Saturday for both. Send both by 4pm and you can't get it wrong.

Source: NZTA guidelines, section 2; instructions inside the RTTMC deployment spreadsheet.

Booking rules and timing

When do I make the booking? In NZTA's guidelines

For a site-specific TMP, at the same time as you submit the TMP. For a PARS (a reusable TMP for repeated work), once the PARS has been accepted, one booking for each works package. Short non-invasive jobs, such as surveys and inspections, don't need a booking.

Source: NZTA guidelines, section 1.

When will I know my booking is OK? NZTA answered

The RTTMC goes through bookings at its Thursday Network Access Coordination meeting, so a booking in by 4pm Wednesday is looked at the next day.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat; webinar 1 slide pack.

Does that mean site-specific TMPs go in earlier? NZTA answered

Yes. With bookings needed by the Wednesday before the work week, a site-specific TMP has to go in more than two weeks ahead to be through in time. NZTA says that's intended: it wants work planned and coordinated earlier.

Source: NZTA's webinar 1 Q and A overview.

If my TMP is sent back for changes, do I lose my booking? Not answered yet

Asked at the 4 November webinar, not answered. What we know: for a site-specific TMP the booking is part of the TMP approval process, so it is looked at along with the TMP. Ask the RTTMC through myWorksites on your TMP.

Source: NZTA's webinar 1 Q and A overview.

Can I change the booking dates after the TMP is accepted? NZTA answered

Yes, booking dates can change. If only the TMP's dates change, NZTA prefers the TMP Extension Request Form: don't change the dates inside the TMP itself, upload the form to a layout, and update the dates in myWorksites under both Worksite and TMP, before the TMP expires. Changing dates inside the TMP means NZTA has to review the whole TMP again.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat; webinar 1 Q and A overview.

Can I use "lane closure" on a road with one lane each way? In NZTA's guidelines

No. In NZTA's standard terms, a lane closure is only for roads with more than one lane in each direction, such as Auckland's motorways. Closing a lane on a two-lane road with traffic taking turns is "Stop/go MTC (alternating flow)". Both are Medium impacts.

Source: NZTA guidelines, standard TTM descriptors table.

Do I need a separate unattended impact every time? In NZTA's guidelines

Only when what drivers see changes. Stop/go by day with signs and a temporary speed limit left out overnight: two impacts, and the unattended one covers every hour the crew isn't there, weekends included. A shoulder closure that stays the same day and night: one impact. Everything packed up at the end of each day: no unattended impact at all.

Source: NZTA guidelines, section 5 and scenarios 1 to 3.

Someone else is booked where I need to work. What happens? NZTA answered

You can talk to the other applicant, or the RTTMC looks at it with the network team and decides what goes ahead and in what order. Booking early helps when two jobs clash. Asked how you know an early booking is real when NZTA encourages booking before the details are certain, NZTA didn't answer in the chat.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat; NZTA guidelines, section 2.

Do my existing TMPs turn into bookings? NZTA answered

Not by themselves. For site-specific TMPs you add bookings by hand for future work. myWorksites can convert a PARS for you: ask through the support button inside myWorksites.

Source: NZTA's webinar 1 Q and A overview; NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

Is a booking reference kept while my TMP is a draft? NZTA answered

Yes. Once a reference is created, no other TMP or booking can use it.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

What about projects that run for years? NZTA answered

A booking can run longer than 12 months, but some parts, such as regulatory devices, can only be agreed for 12 months at a time and need agreeing again. NZTA wants long bookings avoided where possible, and asks you to contact the RTTMC about multi-stage long-term projects.

Source: NZTA's webinar 1 Q and A overview; NZTA guidelines, section 7.

PARS and Early Access Requests

For PARS work, do I need an Early Access Request, a deployment sheet and a booking? NZTA answered

For significant activities under a PARS, yes to the Early Access Request: it tells the RTTMC the work needs a look and maybe a 3Cs discussion. You make a booking for each works package, and the deployment sheet still applies for now. NZTA said there's confusion about Early Access Requests for PARS work and that it will issue more guidance.

Source: NZTA's webinar 1 Q and A overview; NZTA's answer in the 22 October webinar chat.

Does mobile or semi-static PARS work need a booking? In NZTA's guidelines

Short non-invasive work, such as inspections, doesn't. Mobile operations and semi-static operations are both standard Medium impacts, so work that needs them is booked like any other.

Source: NZTA guidelines, section 1 and the standard TTM descriptors table; NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

Short notice, emergencies and small jobs

Weather closures and emergency repairs: booking first, after, or not at all? Not answered yet

Asked at the 4 November webinar, not answered. Ask the RTTMC ([email protected]) how it wants urgent work recorded.

Small customer-driven jobs that are only confirmed days before? Not answered yet

Asked by utility contractors at the 4 November webinar, not answered. What we know: the 4pm Wednesday deadline still applies, and booking dates can change later, so booking the likely week early and moving it is better than missing the cut-off.

Source: NZTA guidelines, section 2; NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

Does every STMS need a myWorksites login by 9 November? NZTA answered

NZTA wants it as soon as possible but said it will allow some leniency while everyone gets set up. The STMS needs the STMS role, and their company must be added to the TMP.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat; myWorksites Help Center.

Detours

How do I book a detour? In NZTA's guidelines

As impacts inside the same booking, one for each direction of the detour, each clearly labelled with the direction of traffic. In NZTA's Desert Road example, each direction takes two parts because of how myWorksites draws detour routes.

Source: NZTA guidelines, section 6 and scenario 5.

My detour uses another RCA's roads. Do I need a second TMP just to book it? Not answered yet

Raised at the 4 November webinar as extra time and duplication. NZTA asked for the details at [email protected] and hasn't answered publicly yet.

Source: NZTA's answer in the 4 November webinar chat.

Still waiting on NZTA

Open at 6 November 2026. We'll update this page when NZTA answers.

For what each role does, see NZTA Road Space Bookings on state highways: what designers, contractors and STMS need to know.

Questions

Do I make a Road Space Booking if the council is the primary RCA?

No. When another RCA is the primary on a TMP that covers two networks, bookings aren't used for that TMP. You still send NZTA an Early Access Request for signs on the state highway, entering only the state highway impact, and the deployment sheet still applies.

Do I still need the RTTMC deployment sheet with Road Space Bookings?

Yes, for now. NZTA will retire it network by network once enough worksites use bookings. There is no date yet.

What is the deadline for NZTA Road Space Bookings?

Before 4pm on the Wednesday before the work week, which runs Sunday to Saturday. The RTTMC looks at bookings at its Thursday coordination meeting. The deployment spreadsheet's own deadline is 5pm Wednesday, so send both by 4pm.

Can I change Road Space Booking dates after the TMP is accepted?

Yes, booking dates can change. For a date-only change to the TMP itself, use NZTA's TMP Extension Request Form instead of editing the dates in the TMP.

Can I use lane closure as the impact on a two-lane road?

No. NZTA's lane closure term is only for roads with more than one lane in each direction. Traffic taking turns through one lane is Stop/go MTC (alternating flow). Both are medium impacts.

Sources

Last checked: 6 November 2026