Every road authority wants the same thing from an application: enough information to say yes with confidence. When a CAR comes back with questions, it is almost always because something they need is missing or unclear. Here are the things worth checking before you press submit.
Check what's already happening nearby
Before you draw your worksite, look at the planning map for other work in the same area and on the same dates. If someone else already has the road booked, their contact details are on their worksite. A five-minute phone call now saves a clash being found by the council, or worse, by two crews turning up on the same morning. Note in your application that you've spoken to them.
Draw the worksite where the work actually is
The extent you draw is what the council assesses and what other contractors see. Make it cover the whole footprint of the job, including where plant, materials and traffic management will sit, but no more. An extent that is too small hides impacts; one that covers half a suburb makes it hard to approve and blocks other people's work.
Pick the right type of application
Excavation and non-excavation work are assessed differently, and many councils offer global permits and generic TMPs for routine, low-impact work you do repeatedly. Using the right route means your application goes to the right queue and is assessed against the right requirements. If you're not sure, your council's guidance page will say, and so will their corridor team.
Allow the council's lead time, not your own
Minimum processing times are set by each road authority and they vary. Some councils ask for five working days for minor work and ten or fifteen for larger jobs; event closures can need several weeks. Treat those as minimums. Applications lodged on the deadline for work that has to start on a Monday morning are the ones most likely to come back with questions at the worst possible time.
Make sure the TMP matches the job
The traffic management plan should describe this site, these dates and this method, prepared by a suitably qualified person under the NZ Guide to Temporary Traffic Management. A TMP copied from a different job with the address changed is easy to spot and usually the reason an otherwise good application stalls. If you reuse a plan, revise it properly.
Answer questions quickly, then close it out
If the council does come back to you, a same-day reply keeps your application moving. Once it's approved, keep the approved CAR, work access permit and TMP on site, notify the council when work starts, and submit your completion notice when you're done. A clean close-out is what makes the next application easier.