Planning Your Event
Food
You don’t need a food control plan or national programme if you are:
- Selling food for fundraising fewer than 20 times a year. Fundraising activities include sausage sizzles, raffles and charity events. You will still need to apply for a food stall license.
- Sharing food with others at sports clubs, social clubs or marae where food is not the purpose of the event. For example, providing nibbles at a bowling club games night or serving food at a tangi.
Even if you are exempt from registering, you still need to provide safe and suitable food. If you want to sell food as a business or for profit you will need to register under a Food Control Plan, or National Programme Level 3, 2 or 1.
Larger Events
An event with more than two stalls needs to have an Event Manager (EM). The EM needs to send us the following at least 20 working days before the event:
- The date and nature of the event.
- A plan showing the location of food stalls, the location of a water tap, the location of wastewater disposal, and toilets for food handlers.
- Information on safety rules for cooking appliances, namely the location of hot cooking surfaces and fire extinguishers/fire blankets.
- A list of proposed food stallholders. The EM must tell each food stallholder to contact the Council for a food stall license no later than 3 working days prior to the event. Stalls that don't have a certificate won't be allowed to operate. A registered mobile food premises doesn't need a stall holder's license.
Alcohol
You need to apply for a special license if you are:
- Selling alcohol at an event
- Charging an entry fee or collecting donations where alcohol is being supplied for free
Events include:
- Sporting events
- Concerts
- Farmer’s Markets
- Private social gatherings (e.g. birthdays, weddings).
You don’t need a special license if you are supplying alcohol or guests are bringing their own alcohol, to a private event — as long as the public can’t access the event.
A special license must be applied for at least 20 working days before the event. If more than 400 people are expected, the application must be made at least 40 working days in advance and you will need to make extra provisions for first aid and security staff.
Noise
It's your responsibility to make sure there is no excessive noise created by your event. If excessive noise is created and seriously upsets the peace and comfort of people living nearby, an Enforcement Officer has several options available:
- A notice may be served requiring you to stop the excessive noise.
- Together with a Police Officer they may remove or inactivate the noise source.
- Issue an Infringement Notice with an instant fine of up to $500 if the noise continues after a notice is served.
- Prosecute the offender for breach of a notice in a District Court with a guilty charge carrying a fine of up to $10,000.
To avoid these outcomes it's best to talk to anyone who might be affected by your plans before the event.
Building and Planning Consents
If your event has tents or marquees that exceed 100m2 in area, the Building Act requires you to get a building consent. Depending on the number of people likely to occupy the tent or marquee, you may also need to speak with Fire and Emergency NZ about extinguishers and signage. When your consent is issued you will be notified if an office needs to inspect the marquee once it's erected.
If you're planning to use an existing building (e.g. a woolstore or gymnasium) for your event, check with a Council Building Inspector about how many people it can safely hold.
If your event requires the closure of public space you will need to allow at least six weeks notice for our planning team to manage the appropriate public notification and processing.
Roads and Footpaths
If you need to close roads or footpaths for your event you will need to speak to our roading team and put together a traffic management plan.
Security
For events with over 400 attendees (or at the request of Environmental Health) you will need to have security staff.
- At events with fewer than 5000 patrons: 1 security staff member per 75 patrons
- At events with more than 5000 patrons: 1 security staff member per 200 patrons
Security staff must hold a 'Certificate of Approval', be distinctively dressed and have communication with a command post.
Toilets
Where existing toilet facilities are inadequate for an event, you will need to supply additional portable units. It's important that these are well-marked and located away from food storage and food service areas.
If the event involves the supply of alcohol under a special licence, toilets and hand wash stations must be provided based on the anticipated peak attendance at any one time. It is important that toilets can be accessed from within the licenced area.
The table below shows the minimum number of toilet facilities and hand washing stations for an event that will last longer than 3 hours. If an event is less than 3 hours or doesn't involve alcohol, the number of toilets can be reduced by 25%.
Peak Attendance | Toilets | Handwashing stations |
|---|---|---|
1-50 | 2 | 2 |
51-100 | 4 | 2 |
101-200 | 6 | 2 |
201-300 | 8 | 2 |
301-400 | 10 | 2 |
401-500 | 12 | 3 |
501-600 | 14 | 3 |
601-700 | 16 | 3 |
701-800 | 18 | 3 |
801-900 | 20 | 3 |
901-1000 | 22 | 4 |
More than 1000 | One additional toilet for every 100 people if the function is less than 3 hours One additional toilet for every 200 people if the function is longer than 3 hours | Note: One additional hand washing station is required for every 10 toilets. |
Amusement Devices
If you're planning to have an amusement device at your event you will need to apply for a permit.
