Alcohol Licencing is Changing: What You Need to Know

What’s already changed?

Since 3 April 2026, on-licence holders (premises where customers drink on-site) can now trade as normal during their usual licenced hours on what are known as “restricted trading days”: Anzac Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day.

Any old licence condition that banned or limited sales on those days no longer applies, and the previous rule requiring alcohol to be served only to diners or lodgers on these days has also been removed.

Off-licences, clubs, and special licences largely keep their existing restrictions on these days. The one notable change is that wineries selling wine made or grown on their own site, which already had an exemption on Easter Sunday, now get that same exemption on Good Friday, Christmas Day, and Anzac Day morning as well. Separately, licenced RSA clubs can now serve members of the public, not just members and their guests, from 4am to 1pm on Anzac Day without needing a special licence, provided a certified duty manager remains on-site while the public is present.

If you hold an on-licence, it’s worth reviewing your current conditions to see whether any restricted-day wording is now outdated and updating your rosters and trading plans accordingly.

 What’s the bigger reform still to come?

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation) Amendment Bill is currently under legislative review with its next update due back to Parliament by 2 October 2026. While some of its detail may still change, it gives a good sense of where the law is heading.

One significant proposed change is who can object to a licence application. At present, anyone in New Zealand can lodge an objection, regardless of any connection to the area. The Bill would narrow this to people who live or work in the same territorial authority area as the premises, or within one kilometre of it, and would give applicants a new right to reply to an objection within 15 working days before the matter proceeds to a hearing.

Perhaps the most significant proposed change is to special licences, used for one-off events, which have been criticised as slow and inconsistent because each of the 67 local licencing committees applies its own criteria and conditions. The Bill would introduce a national, risk-based framework, where a set of standardised rules and conditions are imposed across the country. The aim is a more predictable, evidence-based process, to improve the often-unpredictable outcomes event organisers have faced, where alcohol licences are often delayed or cancelled at late notice.

 Other proposed changes include:

• Allowing wineries, breweries, distilleries, and similar producers to hold both an on-licence and an off-licence at the same premises. Previously, off licences for small scale producers, other than wineries was fraught. 

• Allowing certain restaurants with a retail food component to hold both an on-licence and an off-licence and allowing clubs to apply for an on-licence, rather than a club licence, if they wish to serve the public.

• Exempting hairdressers and barbers from needing an on licence to serve a customer a limited amount of alcohol, such as a beer, a glass of wine, or a gin and tonic.

• Allowing licenced premises to meet their stocking obligations with zero-alcohol products, rather than requiring “low-alcohol” products of no more than 2.5% alcohol.

• Tightening rules for rapid alcohol delivery services (typically delivering within two hours of an order), including clearer responsibility for verifying age and intoxication, and requiring delivery drivers to be over 18.

• A permanent mechanism allowing the Governor-General, on a Minister's recommendation, to permit licenced premises to open outside normal hours to screen significant televised events, without needing a one-off legislative change each time. However, the Bill does not defined what constitutes a “significant” event leaving some uncertainty about how the exemption would operate in practice.

Note the above information may be subject to change before enactment of the Bill. You can follow the Bill's progress and read the current text here: Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation) Amendment Bill.

 How we can help

We can review your current licence conditions considering the restricted trading day changes, advise on how the proposed reforms could affect a pending or upcoming licence application or renewal, and help clubs, wineries, breweries, and hospitality operators plan ahead for the new licencing options once the Bill passes.

Author: Dan Nichols, Law Clerk

Disclaimer

The above information is of a general nature only.  The information in this article does in no way constitute legal advice and all readers should contact a law firm for advice relating to their specific circumstances.