Alcohol Licensing
The aim of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 is not to restrict liquor sale and supply, but to promote safe and legal drinking. To sell alcohol, you must ensure that you have the correct liquor licence.
Local Alcohol Policy (LAP)
Click here for the Local Alcohol Policy (LAP)
Resources
Te Whatu Ora Resource Store | Alcohol - Information, advice, research and resources to help prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm
Alcohol | Te Whatu Ora | Health Promotion - Resource Store
On Licence
An On Licence allows the sale or supply of alcohol for consumption on premises such as a bar, cafe, pub, hotel, tavern or restaurant. This type of licence is also needed to sell liquor on-board transportation such as a plane, train, bus or boat. Alcohol cannot be taken away from an on licensed premise.
Refer to Alcohol Licensing Forms page for New and Renewal of an On Licence.
Off Licence
An Off Licence allows the holder to sell or supply alcohol for use off the licensed premises. This type of licence applies to a "stand alone" bottle shop or store, supermarket or grocery store, brewery, winery.
Refer to Alcohol Licensing Forms page for New and Renewal of an Off Licence.
Club Licence
A Club Licence allows a club to sell or supply alcohol for consumption on the premises to its members and their guests and members of other clubs who hold reciprocal visiting rights. A Club Licence may be issued for sports clubs and social clubs only.
Refer to Alcohol Licensing Forms page for New and Renewal of a Club Licence.
Variation or Cancellation of Conditions of On/Off/Club Licence
Refer to Alcohol Licensing Forms page for Variation or Cancellation of Conditions of an On/Off or Club Licence.
Temporary Authority
A Temporary Authority is a licence that is issued when an existing licensed premises is taken over and the new owner wishes to continue to sell or supply liquor. This is a three month, temporary measure until a new licence is issued to the new owner.
This type of application can only be applied for if there is a current licence already in force for the premises. A Temporary Authority cannot be issued to a club.
Refer to Alcohol Licensing Forms page for Application for Temporary Authority.
| Temporary Licence | Fee | |||
| Temporary Authority | $296.70 | |||
| Temporary Licence During Repairs from Other than Licenced Premises | $296.70 | |||
Application Fees
With the introduction of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 the Government have set national default fees for alcohol licensing. Important details to note are:
- An annual fee is now payable on the anniversary of your premise licence.
- Changes have been made to manager's fees, Special Licences and Temporary Authorities.
- Licences for premises are based on a cost/risk-based approach for alcohol licensing fees
Please use the table below to calculate your weighting amount for your premises and then use that to establish which risk category your premises fits into. Once calculated, please refer to the default liquor fees table (further down) for the application fee.
Cost/risk category framework for alcohol licences
| Licence type | Type of premises | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| On Licence | Class 1 restaurants, night club, tavern, adult premises | 15 |
| Class 2 restaurants, hotel, function centre | 10 | |
| Class 3 restaurants, other | 5 | |
| BYO restaurant, theatres, cinemas, winery cellar doors | 2 | |
| Off Licence | Supermarket, grocery store, bottle store | 15 |
| Hotel, tavern | 10 | |
| Class 1, 2 or 3 club, remote sale premises, other | 5 | |
| Winery cellar doors | 2 | |
| Club Licence | Class 1 club | 10 |
| Class 2 club | 5 | |
| Class 3 club | 2 | |
| Licence type | Latest trading hour allowed by licence | Weighting |
| On Licence or Club Licence | 2am or earlier | 0 |
| Between 2.01am and 3am | 3 | |
| Any time after 3am | 5 | |
| Off Licence | 10pm or earlier | 0 |
| Any time after 10pm | 3 | |
| Remote sales premises | Not applicable | 0 |
| Licence type | Number of enforcements holdings in last 18 months | Weighting |
| None | 10 | |
| 1 | 10 | |
| 2 or more | 20 | |
Enforcement
This has the same meaning as a Holding under section 288 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, or a previous offence for which a holding may have been issued if the offence had occurred before 18 December 2013.
Default liquor fees
The licensing system has five fee categories, which reflect the range of cost/risk ratings as shown below:
| Cost/Risk Category (based on weighting) | Renewal Fee (licensee every 3 years) OR initial application fee (payable by first time applicant) | Annual Fee (Payable by licencee) |
|---|---|---|
| Very Low (0-2) | $368 | $161 |
| Low (3-5) | $609.50 | $391 |
| Medium (6-15) | $816.50 | $632.50 |
| High (16-25) | $1,023.50 | $1,035 |
| Very High (26 plus) | $1,207.50 | $1,437.50 |
| Building & Planning Certificate | Fee | |||
| Building Certificate (for the purpose of Section 100(f) Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act 2012) | $110 | |||
| Planning Certificate (for the purpose of Section 100(f) Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act 2012) | $165 | |||
Please note that the application fees are non-refundable after the application is received by our licensing committee.
| Other Alcohol Licensing | Fee | |||
| BYO or On/Off Licence for Caterers or Auctioneers (new or renewal) | Contact Council | |||
| Replacement Certificate | Contact Council | |||
| Renewal of On/Off/Club Licence | Contact Council | |||
| Extract of Register (Alcohol Regulatory Licensing Authority (ARLA) or District Licensing Committee (DLC) | $57.50 | |||
| Appeal to ARLA | $517.50 | |||
