Sarah Shaw
BARRISTER
RMA Hearings Commissioner
Gambling Commissioner
Sarah has more than twenty-five years’ advocacy experience in environmental and resource management law, public and local government law.
Sarah is a Barrister, Gambling Commissioner, accredited RMA Hearings Commissioner, and Chair of the Auckland housing intensification and resilience panel (plan change 120).
A skilled advocate and formidable negotiator, Sarah has extensive experience in RMA district and regional plan development, resource consenting and designations, on all sides of the table, across council hearings, mediation and the Courts.
Prior to moving to the Independent Bar in 2017 Sarah worked for nearly ten years at leading Northland law firm Thomson Wilson Law and for several years in the UK at Transport for London.
Qualifications
LLB, BSocSc (Geography, Resource and Environmental Planning), University of Waikato, 1998
PGDipREP (Resource and Environmental Planning), University of Waikato, 2001
Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, 1998
Accredited RMA Hearings Commissioner, 2017
Appointments
Gambling Commissioner, February 2022 –
Chair, Auckland housing intensification and resilience panel (plan change 120), November 2025 –
Deputy Chair, Auckland intensification panel (plan change 78), 2024 – 2025
Chair, Fast-track consenting panel for papakainga development Kaitaia, 2021
Memberships and voluntary roles
Chair, Resource Management Law Association Northland Branch, 2019 –
Member, New Zealand Law Society Environmental Law Committee, 2025 –
Foundation board member, Questionable Research Labs Trust, 2021 –
Member, New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture
Member, Resource Management Law Association
