Alcohol Licensing

Christmas Period Applications

If a business wants to open before Christmas to sell food and/or alcohol, complete applications need to be submitted by Friday 9^th October 2020

Alcohol Special Licence application deadline: January Event – apply by 13^th November 2020
Complete applications must be submitted 20 working days before the event. Large event applications must be submitted 40 working days for the event.

If you plan to sell alcohol on your premises or let people bring alcohol to drink on the premises while dining, you’ll need to apply for the appropriate licence. This is a requirement of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. You can’t sell alcohol without a licence.

Wairarapa Local Alcohol Policy

We have a Wairarapa Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) (PDF, 298KB) that was written by all three councils. The purpose of the LAP is to provide local guidance for the District Licensing Committee to make sure that decisions:

Contribute to a safe and healthy district;
Reflect the character, values, preferences and needs that are important to our communities;
Foster positive, responsible drinking behaviours and alcohol‐related harm is reduced.