As of 18 December 2013 alcohol licenses will be issued by the District Licensing Committee of Napier City Council.

The requirement for licences and the criteria the Committee consider when granting them are set out in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and Regulations. View Act and Regulations.

The sale or supply of liquor to the public requires a licence under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. There are four types of licences:

• On Licence
• Off Licence
• Club Licence
• Special Licence

A licence is issued to a named person, company or legal entity in relation to a premises or conveyance. Conveyances are vehicles such as aircraft, vessels, trains etc. A licence cannot be transferred from one person to another or from one premises or conveyance to another.

Contact us if you plan on selling or supplying liquor to the public, as you will need to consider planning and building issues and any other rules specific to your area. You will also need to talk to us about any requirements for kitchen, bar and toilet facilities.

Once you have lodged your application, you need to notify the public. To do this, download and complete the public notice template.

Our Local Alcohol Policy (LAP)

New Zealand’s alcohol laws were reformed in 2012 with the repeal of The Sale of Liquor Act 1989 and it's replacement with The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (SSAA 2012).

The new Act  put in place a new system of control over the sale and supply of alcohol with an emphasis on local decision-making and harm minimisation. The overarching objectives of the Act are that:

• The sale, supply and consumption of alcohol should be undertaken safely and responsibly.
• The harm caused by the excessive or inappropriate consumption of alcohol should be minimised.

SSAA 2012 also empowered Councils to develop a Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) to control where and when alcohol can be sold. The LAP can then be referred to by District Licensing Committee when considering alcohol licence applications.

In late 2012, we resolved to work on a joint LAP with Hastings District Council. We heard submissions on the Joint Local Alcohol Policy in 2014, and a Joint Local Alcohol policy was provisionally adopted in April 2016.

Three appeals were received in 2017, appealing the hours of off licences (supermarket and bottle store hours). We did some additional research and a negotiated settlement was reached with the appellants.

On 11 July 2019 (Hastings) and 23 July (Napier), we resolved to bring the entire LAP - with the exception of elements 5.1-5.3 - into force on Wednesday 21 August, 2019. Elements 5.1-5.3 - which relate to maximum trading hours and one-way door restrictions - will come into force on Thursday 21 November 2019.

VIEW THE LOCAL ALCOHOL POLICY HERE