A schedule of fees relating to alcohol licensing applications and renewals.

All application fees are for the processing of an application, require an invoice and are non-refundable. They must be paid when you apply for your licence or certificate.

When preparing your alcohol licensing applications please make sure you use the latest version of the forms downloaded from this website. Using out-of-date forms may delay the assessment of your application and risk your application being returned as incomplete.

You can submit all application documents (except for a new on/off/club licence which requires a lodgement meeting) online and you will then be emailed an invoice for payment.  

You will need to have an invoice from us before you can make your payment. Payments can be made by cash, EFTPOS or credit card at a service desk or by internet banking. Internet banking payment account and reference details can be found on your invoice.

You will need to provide proof of payment that includes confirmation of the payment details (e.g. a screenshot of the completed transaction). If you have any questions about your invoice please phone 03 941 8999 and ask to speak to an alcohol licensing technical officer or email alcohollicensing@ccc.govt.nz.

On licence, off licence or club licences

How are fees determined

  • Regulations set most fees. However, any fees set by Council may be subject to annual review, and any changes take effect on 1 July each year. Fee information can be viewed under alcohol licensing fees.
  • The fees vary depending on the cost plus risk rating of each premise based on the style of licence, hours and enforcements in the last 18 months.
  • We can only process your applications once we have both the Proof of Payment of fees and the required paperwork (application form and required documents).
  • Fees for premises and managers include an Alcohol Regulatory Licensing Authority (RALA) Levy. This is displayed on the invoice.

The fees consist of:

  1. An application fee:- paid by licensees when they apply for a new, renewed or varied licence; and
  1. An annual fee:- which must be paid by licensees each year.

Risk rating fee regime:

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 brought in a risk-based fee regime. The risk weighting you are given is determined by the territorial authority and has been designed to:

  • Recover all costs of the licensing system.
  • Allocate costs more fairly across the industry.
  • Provide territorial authorities with flexibility to respond to local conditions.
  • Establish fair and pragmatic transitional arrangements.
  • Minimise alcohol-related harm to the extent that is possible and reasonable through a cost recovery fees regime.
  • Please see the March 2021 Tri-Agency Newsletter which has updates on changes in payment options (including phasing out of cheques) and new options on how to submit your application documents online. 

See tables below for calculations on how territorial authority calculates weighting of your premises. Restaurants and clubs will be rated according to the “class” they fit within.

Type of licensed premise Weighting
Off-licence: Liquor store, Supermarket, Grocery 15
On-licence: Nightclub, Tavern, Adult premises, Class 1 restaurant 15
Off-licence: Across the bar sales at a tavern or Hotel-off 10
On-licence: Hotel, Function centre, Class 2 restaurant, Universities and polytechnics 10
Club licence: Class 1 club 10

Off-licence: Remote sales, Chartered club, Club-off
On-licence: Class 3 restaurant, Other (not otherwise specified)
Club licence: Class 2 club
Other: Off-licence: Auctioneer, Off-other
On-licence: Caterer, Conveyance

 5
On-licence: Theatres/cinemas, BYO restaurant, Winery
Off-licence: Winery cellar door
Club licence: Class 3 clubs		 2
Latest alcohol sale time Weighting
On-licence and club licence: Before 2.01am
Off-licence: Before 10.01pm, Remote Sales (including 24 hour)		 0
On-licence and club licence: 2.01am – 3.01am
Off-licence: 10.01pm and later		 3
On-licence and club licence: All other closing times 5 
Number of enforcements (last 18 months) Weighting
None 0
1 10
2 20

Fee categories

Total weighting Cost/risk fee category Application fee (GST inclusive) Annual fee (GST inclusive)
0 - 2 Very low $368 $161
3 -5 Low $609.50 $391
6 - 15 Medium $816.50 $632.50
16 - 25 High $1,023.50 $1,035
26 plus Very high $1,207.50 $1,437.50

Restaurant and club class definitions

Class Description
Class 1 restaurants These restaurants have a significant separate bar area, and in the opinion of the relevant territorial authority, operate that bar at least one night a week in the nature of a tavern, such as serving alcohol without meals to tables situated in the bar area.
Class 2 restaurants These restaurants have a separate bar, but of the relevant territorial authority, in the do not operate in the nature of a tavern at any time.
Class 3 restaurants These restaurants only serve alcohol to the table and have no separate bar.
Class 1 clubs These are large clubs with more than 1,000 members of drinking age and which, in opinion of the territorial authority, operate in the nature of a tavern.
Class 2 clubs Clubs which do not fit class 1 or 3 definitions.
Class 3 clubs Clubs which in the opinion of the territorial authority are small clubs (with up to 250 members of drinking age) and which typically operate a bar for 40 hours or less per week.

Enforcements

Any enforcement action taken against your premises by the agencies will now affect the fees you pay for a licence. We will take into account any enforcement action taken in the previous 18 months of any application or annual fee falling due.

Enforcement action is classed as a “holding”. This is dealt with under section 288 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

Sections 289 and 290 apply to a finding (holding) of the licensing authority that a person who is a licensee or a manager of any licensed premises has:

  • Encouraged excessive consumption
  • Promoted/advertised discounting of more than 25% (unless on the premises, or in remote sales off-licence catalogue)
  • Held/had on the premises promotion/advertising of discounts of more than 25% and could be seen/heard from outside premises
  • Promoted/advertised alcohol-free of charge, other than complimentary samples or by promotion/advertisement within licensed premises that could not be seen.
  • Offered goods/services/opportunity to win a prize on condition alcohol was bought (other than offer only on licensed premises and only in relation to buying alcohol on those premises)
  • Promoted competition that required/enabled entry by alcohol purchase, other than offering (on licensed premises) goods/services/opportunity to obtain/win prize or by stocking/displaying/selling alcohol concerned
  • Promoted/advertised in manner had/likely to have special appeal to minors
  • Sold/supplied to a minor
  • Allowed alcohol to be sold/supplied to minor
  • Unauthorised sale/supply
  • Sale to an intoxicated person

Public notice of application

All alcohol licence application public notices (for premises new, renewal, and variation applications) are published on the alcohol license public notice register. Applications are no longer published in the newspaper.

We will take care of the publication of your public notice when you make your application to us. 

  • There is a small administration charge for our assistance in loading the content onto the licensing notification webpage. 
  • The fee will need to be paid in advance of publication.
  • Your notice will be published within a week of your application being received and the public notice fee being paid.
  • We will send you a copy of the published notice for your records at the same time we send you the front entrance notice for display on your premises. You will need to display the notice on your main entrance for at least 15 working days.

Information and instructions for applicants about this transition to web public notification can be found in a special edition Tri-Agency newsletter.

When to pay annual fees

Existing licences must pay fees each year on the anniversary date of the issue of the last licence. Two months before they are due, we send invoices to the postal address on our records. It is your responsibility to ensure all annual fees are paid on time. 

The amount of the annual fee you pay will be determined by the fee category and risk rating on the day the annual fee is due. This is important, as the annual fee could change throughout the year, particularly where the licensee has had a compliance issue affecting their fees category over the past 18 months.

Please note that failure to pay the annual fee within 30 days after the due date will result in the licence being automatically suspended. 

If your licence is suspended you may not sell and supply alcohol until the fee and any penalty charges are paid.

For new licences, the relevant annual fee must be paid by the applicant before the licence is issued.

We no longer accept cheques for payment.

Premises Certificate of Compliance (Alcohol)

The fee for a Premises Certificate of Compliance (Alcohol) application (required under section 100(f) of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act) is set by Council and may be subject to review annually. Refer to alcohol licensing fees. 

Fee types A and B listed below:

Premises Certificate of Compliance (sale and Supply of Alcohol Act) Fee (GST inclusive)
Application A, existing licensed premises - change of business ownership (no other changes) $165.30 
Application B, never been licenced or changes to licence $279.60

Special licences

Special licences can cover one-off or short-duration events but can also cover larger events such as wine and food festivals. Fees for special licences have been set via a national three-tier framework:

Event Fee (inclusive of GST)
One or two events that are of a small size (less than 100 people expected) $63.25
Three to 12 events that are of small size (less than 100 people expected)
or
One to three events that are of medium size (between 100 to 400 people expected)		 $207
All other special licences, including licences for events that are of a large size (more than 400 people expected) $575

The flexibility for the territorial authority to adjust a fee category will also apply to special licences. For example, a territorial authority could decide to charge a special licence applicant the fee for a small-sized event, instead of the fee for a medium-sized event, if it decided that was appropriate in the circumstances.

Invoices must be paid immediately for filing to be completed and your application progressed for assessment. Regardless of when your paperwork was filed for your special licence, failure to make the payment (on the invoice issued to you) of the fee due for your application 20 working days before the event date will mean that your application is treated as a short-notice application. You will need to provide a letter explaining the reason for the late payment before your application can proceed any further.

Note: all application fees for processing your applications are non-refundable, and must be paid when you apply for your licence.

Other applications and matters

The table below provides information about fees for applications other than new licences, renewals of licences and variations of licences.

Application type Fee (inclusive of GST)
Managers certificate $316.25
Temporary authority $296.70
Temporary licence $296.70
Appeal to Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) $517.50
Extract of register (ARLA or District Licensing Committee) $57.50
Permanent club charter (annual fee due on 30 June each year and paid to ARLA) $632.50
Public Notice Fee $89.90

DLC and further information fee variations

Variations can be caused by a variation application for on, off, or club licence from you, an inspector assessment of your renewal application and District Licensing Committees (DLC) decisions and further information.

All applications must be accompanied by the relevant fee. Your application will not be complete and will be put on hold for processing until all fees due are paid in full. 

Territorial authorities will make a determination of the application fee based on the information provided by the applicant and any other relevant information available (including from the DLC) to the territorial authority at the time.

If the fee category of an application changes due to further information becoming available during the process of considering the application, the provision will be made for the fee to be adjusted accordingly once the assessment is completed and the new fee category confirmed.