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Alcohol Licensing

This section assists you to:

  • have a say on liquor licence applications in your neighbourhood
  • make a complaint about a licensed premises.

You can object to the following types of licence applications:

  • Off-licence = bottle store, supermarket, grocery store, remote/online seller, etc
  • On-licence = bar, tavern, night club, restaurant, café , etc
  • Club licence = sports club, RSA, Cosmopolitan club, etc
  • Special licence = application for a special event where alcohol is sold (may be at a licensed premises, public festival, private special occasion, etc)

Tips and tools are provided to help you with this process.

Off-licences sell the majority (around 80%) of alcohol in New Zealand.

Many communities across the country are actively involved in objecting to off-licence applications.

This section guides you along this process.

BACKGROUND GET PREPARED TAKE ACTION CASE STUDY

Many communities across the country are actively involved in objecting to on-licence applications. Reducing the number of licensed premises (places that sell alcohol) and problems associated with them can greatly improve your local surroundings and reduce alcohol-related harm.

BACKGROUND GET PREPARED TAKE ACTION CASE STUDY

Clubs can present many issues for communities when the sale of alcohol is poorly managed.

The exposure of hazardous drinking to minors, and sale of alcohol to minors, can be particularly problematic.

BACKGROUND GET PREPARED TAKE ACTION CASE STUDY

A special licence allows the sale or supply of alcohol to persons attending an event, private function, street party, sporting event, etc. These events may be at a licensed premises, at other venues, or in public settings.

Large or special events can cause many problems if poorly managed.

BACKGROUND GET PREPARED TAKE ACTION CASE STUDY

Holding an alcohol licence is a privilege and not a right. It is important the licence holders and licensed premises comply with the law and conditions on their licence.

This section describes the importance of this area of action and guides you through the process of making a complaint about a local licensed premises. For information on taking action on single areas within supermarkets, please click here.

BACKGROUND GET PREPARED TAKE ACTION CASE STUDY

References

  1. Pearce, J., Day, P., & Witten, K. Neighbourhood provision of food and alcohol retailing and social deprivation in urban New Zealand. Urban Policy and Research, 2008; 26(2), 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111140701697610 
  2. Ayuka, F., Barnett, R., & Pearce, J. Neighbourhood availability of alcohol outlets and hazardous alcohol consumption in New Zealand. Health & Place, 2014; 29:  186-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.07.002
  3. Chikritzhs, T., Stockwell, T. The Impact of Later Trading Hours for Australian Public Houses (Hotels) on Levels of Violence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2002; 63(5),591-9. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.2002.63.591 
  4. Casswell, S., Huckle, T., Wall, M., & Yeh, L.C. International Alcohol Control study: pricing data and hours of purchase predict heavier drinking. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2014; 38(5):1425-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12359
  5. Kypri, K., Jones, C., McElduff, P., & Barker, D. Effects of restricting pub closing times on night‐time assaults in an Australian city. Addiction. 2011; 106(2), 303-310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03125.x 
  6. Pasch, K. E., Komro, K. A., Perry, C. L., Hearst, M. O., & Farbakhsh, K. Outdoor alcohol advertising near schools: what does it advertise and how is it related to intentions and use of alcohol among young adolescents? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2007; 68(4), 587-596. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2007.68.587 
  7. Ellickson, P. L., Collins, R. L., Hambarsoomians, K., & McCaffrey, D. F. Does alcohol advertising promote adolescent drinking? Results from a longitudinal assessment. Addiction. 2005; 100(2), 235-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.00974.x 
  8. Casswell, S., Huckle, T., Wall, M., & Yeh, L.-C.  International Alcohol Control study: pricing data and hours of purchase predict heavier drinking. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 2014; 38(5):1425-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12359
  9. New Zealand Law Commission. Alcohol in Our Lives: Curbing the harm: A report on the review of the regulatory framework for the sale and supply of liquor. Wellington: New Zealand Law Commission; 2010. https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/sites/default/files/projectAvailableFormats/NZLC%20R114.pdf
  10. Miller, P et al. Dealing with Alcohol and the Night Time Economy (DANTE). Final report. National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund: Australia. 2012; AND Miller, P et al. Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED). 2013; Final report. National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund: Australia. https://aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/monograph46.pdf?v=1576128550 
  11. Parker RN, McCaffree KJ, Skiles D.. The impact of retail practices on violence: the case of single serve alcohol beverage containers. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2011; 30(5):496-504. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3362.2011.00318.x 
  12. Masho, S. W., Bishop, D. L., Edmonds, T., & Farrell, A. D. Using Surveillance Data to Inform Community Action: The Effect of Alcohol Sale Restrictions on Intentional Injury-related Ambulance Pickups. Prevention Science, 2014; 15(1):22–30. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-013-0373-y 
  13. NZ Police. Policing Fact Sheet: Licensed premises trading hours. Prepared by: Organisational Performance Group, Police National Headquarters: Wellington; 2009. https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/timaru-licensed-premises-fact-sheet.pdf 
  14. Toomey, Traci L., Darin J. Erickson, Kathleen M. Lenk, Gunna R. Kilian, Cheryl L. Perry, and Alexander C. Wagenaar. "A randomized trial to evaluate a management training program to prevent illegal alcohol sales." Addiction 2008; 103 (3): 405-413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2007.02077.x 
  15. Clark TC, Fleming T, Bullen P, et al. Youth’12 Prevalence Tables: The health and wellbeing of New Zealand secondary school students in 2012. Auckland, New Zealand: The University of Auckland;2013. https://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/assets/fmhs/faculty/ahrg/docs/Prevalence%20report.pdf 
  16. ARLA Annual Report 2015/16. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/51DBHOH_PAP71415_1/fe3d568aa599ab6ff6effd5285b2d41525cd0e5b [Accessed 1 December 2017].
  17. Babor, Thomas. Alcohol: no ordinary commodity: research and public policy. Oxford University Press, 2010. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/alcohol-no-ordinary-commodity-9780199551149?cc=nz&lang=en& 
  18. Wilkinson, Claire, and Sarah MacLean. Enforcement of liquor licence provisions: The introduction of civilian licence inspectors in Victoria. Drugs: education, prevention and policy 2013; 20(1): 15-21. https://doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2012.676106 
  19. National Drug Research Institute Restrictions on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol: Evidence and Outcomes. Perth: National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology. 2007. Retrieved from http://ndri.curtin.edu.au/ndri/media/documents/publications/R207.pdf [Accessed 1 December 2017].
  20. Ker, Katharine, and Paul Chinnock. Interventions in the alcohol server setting for preventing injuries. The Cochrane Library 2008. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005244.pub3 
  21. Curtis, Ashlee, Kerri Coomber, Nicolas Droste, Shannon Hyder, Darren Palmer, and Peter G. Miller. "Effectiveness of community‐based interventions for reducing alcohol‐related harm in two metropolitan and two regional sites in Victoria, Australia." Drug and Alcohol Review 2017; 36(3): 359-368. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12501 
  22. Homel, Ross, and Jeff Clark. The prediction and prevention of violence in pubs and clubs. Crime Prevention Studies 1994; 3: 1-46.  https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/library/crimeprevention/volume_03/01_homel.pdf