Local Alcohol Policy

What is a local alcohol policy (LAP)?

Under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, councils can develop local alcohol policies (LAPs) to influence the location, number and trading hours of businesses licensed to sell alcohol.

Purpose of LAPs

LAPs generally encourage the responsible sale, supply and consumption of alcohol and focus on reducing alcohol related harm.

A LAP can influence:

where new alcohol licences can be established
how many new alcohol licences are allowed
when bars, restaurants and nightclubs can be open
when bottle shops and supermarkets can sell alcohol
when clubs (e.g. sports clubs, RSAs) can sell alcohol.

LAPs can also set out conditions that can be applied to alcohol licences. This is to improve industry standards and promote safe and responsible sale and supply of alcohol.

LAPs will need to be considered by the relevant District Licensing Committee (DLC) and the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) when they make decisions on new licence applications.

The LAPs will also have some effect on existing licences.

Provisional LAP

We adopted the Provisional LAP in May 2015.

The Provisional LAP includes regional policies, as well as some special rules for the city centre and the priority overlay.

The priority overlay covers suburbs experiencing higher levels of alcohol-related harm. For the boundaries of these areas, see Local alcohol policy areas.

Key points of the Provisional LAP

Key points in the provisional LAP are:

opening hours
restrictions on the location of new licences
a local impacts report for the renewal of higher-risk licences in the priority overlay to help with setting conditions
a range of discretionary conditions that can be applied to licences.

Email us if you have more detailed enquiries.

Supporting research

We have completed a significant amount of research in developing the provisional LAP.

Key documents

Select all

Alcohol licence trading hours - Economic Impact Assessment - Phase 1 Alcohol licence trading hours - Economic Impact Assessment - Phase 1 PDF 2 MB
Alcohol licence trading hours - Economic Impact Assessment - Phase 2 Alcohol licence trading hours - Economic Impact Assessment - Phase 2 PDF 710 KB
Alcohol licence trading hours - Economic Impact Assessment - Phase 3 Alcohol licence trading hours - Economic Impact Assessment - Phase 3 PDF 754.8 KB
Review of Mechanisms to Regulate Supply of Alcohol Review of Mechanisms to Regulate Supply of Alcohol PDF 648.9 KB
Local Alcohol Policy Research Report Local Alcohol Policy Research Report PDF 1.2 MB
Alcohol Related Harms Research Report Alcohol Related Harms Research Report PDF 1.5 MB

Amendments to the Provisional LAP

On 19 July 2017, the ARLA released its decision on the appeals made against the provisional LAP. We were required to reconsider the following five elements:

Clause 4.3.1 - off-licence maximum trading hours
Clauses 4.2.2 and 4.2.3 - renewals of off-licences requiring a local impacts report
Clauses 4.3.2 and 4.3.3 – hours of delivery for remote sellers
Clause 4.5.1(c) – a recommendation that the District Licensing Committee or the ARLA consider including a discretionary condition for certain off-licences limiting single sales
Clause 4.5.1(d) – a recommendation that the District Licensing Committee or the ARLA consider including a discretionary condition for certain off-licences requiring the afternoon closing of premises near Education Facilities.

On 14 September 2017, it was resolved to resubmit the provisional LAP to the ARLA after making the following changes:

Delete clauses 4.2.2 and 4.2.3
Amend clause 4.3.1 to read “Pursuant to sections 77(1)(e) and 45 of the Act, the maximum trading hours for off-licences in the Auckland region are 7am to 9pm, Monday to Sunday.”
Delete clauses 4.3.2 and 4.3.3
Delete clause 4.5.1(c) and (c) of Table 2
Delete clause 4.5.1(d) and (d) of Table 2.