A special licence allows the sale or supply of alcohol at certain events (for example, a food and wine festival or some types of private functions in public venues).
The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Rugby World Cup 2023 Extended Trading Hours) Amendment Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 July 2023.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be played in France, time zone differences will mean some games will be broadcast in New Zealand outside the permitted trading hours for some premises. These amendments to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 will permit club licence and on-licence holders to extend their trading hours to televise live Rugby World Cup 2023 games, without applying for a special licence.
The process for extended trading hours is very similar to that from the 2015 and 2019 amendments: licensees will need to notify their territorial authority and the local Police seven days prior to the game/games they wish to extend their trading hours for.
This year, they will also need to notify the same parties to cancel their original notification if they change their minds about extending their trading hours for a game/games.
To assist with notifications, the Ministry has developed a number of resources for licensees, which can be found below:
Licensees are now able to use a digitised form to notify their intention to extend trading hours for the RWC games through the Business Connect portal, if they wish. Once the form is submitted, a summary of the notification will be directly sent via email to the relevant local territorial authority and the nearest Police station.