The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 introduced changes to some licensing rules and licensing fees.
The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 aims to ensure licensing costs are met by the alcohol industry rather than ratepayers.
A special licence allows the sale or supply of alcohol at certain events (for example, a food and wine festival or some types of private functions in public venues).
Returned Services Associations (RSAs) that hold a club licence can serve alcohol early on ANZAC Day to members and their guests.
However, they need to apply for a special licence if they plan to serve alcohol to members of the public.
The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Rugby World Cup 2023 Extended Trading Hours) Amendment Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 July 2023.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be played in France, time zone differences will mean some games will be broadcast in New Zealand outside the permitted trading hours for some premises. These amendments to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 will permit club licence and on-licence holders to extend their trading hours to televise live Rugby World Cup 2023 games, without applying for a special licence.
The process for extended trading hours is very similar to that from the 2015 and 2019 amendments: licensees will need to notify their territorial authority and the local Police seven days prior to the game/games they wish to extend their trading hours for.
This year, they will also need to notify the same parties to cancel their original notification if they change their minds about extending their trading hours for a game/games.
To assist with notifications, the Ministry has developed a number of resources for licensees, which can be found below:
Licensees are now able to use a digitised form to notify their intention to extend trading hours for the RWC games through the Business Connect portal, if they wish. Once the form is submitted, a summary of the notification will be directly sent via email to the relevant local territorial authority and the nearest Police station.
Instructions to access the digitised form:
Licensees who experience technical issues with the Business Connect platform, can contact hello@businessconnect.govt.nz and can access RealMe support here(external link)
Licensees who have general questions regarding extended trading hours, can contact their local territorial authority.
Licensees who do not wish to use the digitised form can continue to access and use the templates available above.
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