Public Notification of Liquor Licence Applications


This page explains the public notification requirements for liquor licence applications under the Sale of Liquor Act 1989.

Liquor licence applications for premises must be publicly notified

Public notification of liquor licence applications under the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 is a statutory requirement for the following licences:

  • On-Licence – for premises and conveyances
  • BYO On-Licence
  • Off-Licence
  • Catering Off-Licence
  • Club Licence

This applies to new licences, licence renewal and applications for variation in existing licence conditions.

You must publicly notify your application within 20 working days from the day on which your application is filed with Council’s District Licensing Agency.

You may be required to publicly notify Special Licence applications where directed by the District Licensing Agency.

Public notification is required in two forms i.e., in local newspapers and on your premises.

Notification in local newspapers

You are required to publicly notify your liquor licence application by publishing two separate advertisements in successive issues of a newspaper that is circulated within the district in which your licensed premises are or will be located.

The Porirua District Licensing Agency requires these notifications to be made in two successive issues of a Porirua City community newspaper (i.e. Kapi Mana News or Porirua News).

The notifications must be made using the correct form (Form 1). The form is included with the new and renewal application form set that you may print off from the Liquor Licensing Forms link below.

Notification to be displayed on the premises

In addition to the newspaper notification you must also display a public notice in a conspicuous place on your premises or on or adjacent to the site on which your premises will be located.

This must be done within 10 working days after the date of which your licence application is filed with the District Licensing Agency.

The form (Form 1A) for this notice is set out in Schedule 1 to the Sale of Liquor Regulations 1990.

The minimum size accepted is A4. You may use a copy of the first newspaper public notification form for this.

If the notice is being displayed outdoors it should be plastic laminated.

The sign must remain displayed until the public notification period has ended.

You will not have to display the notice if the District Licensing Agency agrees that it is impracticable or unreasonable to do so.

Special Licence applications may also have to be publicly notified

Although Special Licence applications do not generally have to be publicly notified there are occasions when the District Licensing Agency may, at its discretion require this to occur.

Special Licence public notifications are generally restricted to newspaper advertisements only.

They must be made using the correct form (Form 1) which is the last page on the Special Licence Application form. You may print this off by using the Liquor Licensing Forms link below.

The applicant is responsible for arranging public notification

You are responsible for arranging the newspaper and on site (as applicable) public notifications of your liquor licence applications by the set dates.

As soon as practical after the publication of the second notice you must supply the District Licensing Agency with copies of each public notice published and details of the dates and newspaper in which that occurred.

Public notifications must be made in the correct manner

If your application is not publicly notified in the specified time, a notification is not correctly completed or you do not supply copies of the published newspaper notifications to the District Licensing Agency:

  • You may be required to re-notify the application; or
  • Your application may be declined.

Note: When completing the Public Notification forms amend the multiple statute references in the form headings to clearly identify the type of licence you are applying for by deleting the sections of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 that do not apply to your application.

Public notification allows public input into liquor licence applications

Public notification of applications is a statutory requirement.

Its purpose is to allow any person to object to or make submissions on the application.

For information on making an objection or submission, go to our Liquor Licence - Objection page using the link below.

Links to more liquor licensing information

Legislation:

Porirua City Council links: