The Government has announced plans to overhaul New Zealand’s alcohol licensing system, saying hospitality businesses face excessive costs, delays and regulatory complexity under the current regime.
Regulation Minister David Seymour and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced the next stage of the Government’s response to the Ministry for Regulation’s Hospitality Sector Review, with all but one of its recommendations accepted.
Seymour said the review had identified alcohol licensing as one of the most significant regulatory problems facing cafés, restaurants and other hospitality operators.
“If we are going to unlock New Zealand’s potential, we need to let Kiwi businesses get on with business,” he said.
The review received 247 written submissions and consulted 13 sector representative groups, members of 27 District Licensing Committees, 12 territorial authorities, 21 hospitality businesses and two community groups.
Seymour said the average café or restaurant survived for less than two years and argued that unnecessary regulation was adding to the pressures facing operators.
Among the examples highlighted was a cruise ship that could serve alcohol while underway but not while in port.
The review also heard from a business that said an alcohol licensing process lasting more than a year ultimately resulted in 30 staff losing their jobs, $200,000 in investment being lost and more than $1 million in potential profits being forgone. According to Seymour, the business was sold shortly after its licence was finally approved.
“Bad regulations kill business,” he said.
McKee said the proposed reforms would make obtaining and renewing alcohol licences simpler, cheaper and more proportionate.
“Regulators need to stop treating hospitality businesses who want to sell alcohol like common criminals,” she said.
The Government has accepted proposals to reform licensing fees, including removing annual fees, reducing renewal charges and introducing inspection fees. Application and renewal procedures are also expected to be simplified, while renewal periods for some licences would be extended.
Other proposed changes include clearer criteria and simpler forms for first-time applicants, reforms to District Licensing Committees, and eventually replacing existing licence categories with a single risk-based alcohol licensing framework.
The Government also intends to establish a nationwide information system covering licences, certificates, compliance activity, regulatory performance, alcohol-related crime and incidents, and health effects.
Responsibility for alcohol licensing regulation would also be consolidated under one existing government agency and its corresponding minister.
The Ministry for Regulation recommended implementing the reforms by 2029, but McKee said she wanted changes introduced earlier wherever practical.
Seymour described the package as another example of the Ministry for Regulation addressing bureaucratic obstacles faced by New Zealanders and businesses.
