Skip navigation

How to organise events

Organising your event | Locations and venues | Getting permission | Event safety | Event security | Resources | Waste management | Traffic management | Funding and your budget | Licences | Insurance and damage | Pay your invoice

Licences

Food stall licences

All food stalls at events are required to hold food stall licences. These are separate from the event permit that you require as the organiser, and are all about ensuring the public are safe when eating at your event.

As the organiser, you are responsible for ensuring all food vendors at your event are licensed.

Using pre-licenced vendors

By selecting vendors who already hold 6 or 12 monthly food stall licences, the process is easy. You simply need to supply the names and licence numbers of your vendors to your event facilitator. We recommend asking the food stall holders to provide you with a copy of their food stall licence. Alternatively, you can contact us and request a list of current food stall licence holders.

Using un-licenced vendors

If your food vendors are not pre-licenced, they need to obtain a temporary one day food stall licence.

Process

  1. Contact us early on. We will send you a questionnaire and information for you to distribute to the vendors. A facilitator can help you with this initial contact.
  2. Compile all of the completed questionnaires from your vendors (including those already registered) and submit them with a site map to us at least 60 days before your event.
  3. We will assess the risk posed by your vendors and may suggest some measures you can take as the organiser to minimise this risk (eg extra washing up facilities, refrigerated storage, etc) or suggest measures the vendors can take.
  4. Un-licenced vendors are required to attend a basic food hygiene training workshop before the event. This can often be combined with any stall holder meetings that you are planning to hold.
  5. Inspectors try to attend every event but will target the high-risk events during busy periods. An inspection of the food stalls will be carried out on the day of the event and officers may suggest further measures to improve the conditions of the stalls. If the food stall is found to be satisfactory, the unlicenced vendor will be issued a temporary one day food stall licence that should be displayed at the stall. Pre-licenced food stalls already hold food stall licences as they have been inspected prior to the event and found to be satisfactory.
  6. After the event, we will invoice you for the unlicenced stalls' fees.

If vendors are not pre-licenced, we reserve the right to either refuse licences or limit the number of one day food stalls at your event.

Types of licences

Mobile food van/stall licences can be issued on a daily, 6 or 12 monthly basis.

Many pre-licenced food stalls hold 6 or 12 monthly licences and these are acceptable for trading at events and festivals.

Temporary one day food stall licences are issued on the day of the event and must be coordinated by the event organiser who must liaise with us before the event.

Food premises licences (e.g. A, B, D and E grades) are held by registered food premises and allow trading from that address only. They do not cover trading off site at festivals or events. A separate food stall licence is required for this.

Additional information

Where do I get my licences?

Visit our Graham Street office or contact us for help.

What are the fees to inspect all of the food stalls?

$40 per stall, per day or an hourly rate of $155 per hour to inspect all the stalls at the event. We will invoice you directly for the total amount. We strongly recommend that you build this fee into the pitch fee charged to your vendors.

My vendor has a food premises licence and wants to trade at my event from a stall, do they require a food stall licence?

Yes, a food premise licence relates to the fixed address of a registered kitchen. To operate a food stall at a festival or event they will still require a food stall licence. At our discretion, they may not be required to attend the food hygiene training workshop.

My vendor holds an Auckland City Council food stall licence do they require a separate licence for this event?

No, as long as their food stall licence is valid and has not expired they will not require another licence. You will need to supply us with your vendors food stall licence numbers (ENV or L/EFS) so we can check they are licenced.

My vendor is licensed by another council, can they operate in Auckland city?

Auckland City Council will accept current food stall/mobile trader licences from vendors registered with other councils. A copy of the licence must be supplied to your event facilitator.

What are the consequences if my vendors do not have food stall licences?

If you, as the organiser, have failed in your duty to ensure all of your food stalls are licensed by either checking they hold a current licence or by applying for food stall licences on their behalf, then you may be prosecuted and/or future events could be jeopardised. Inspectors also have powers to make food stalls cease trading on the spot: food can be seized, and individual vendors can be prosecuted. The consequences for the event can be severe including opposition to the event in the future and the negative publicity associated with food poisoning.

Liquor licences

If you wish to supply alcohol at your event or there is a liquor ban in place at the location you choose, you may need to obtain a special liquor licence.

According to the Sale of Liquor Act, anyone selling alcohol outside of their residential property (eg, outdoor spaces and community halls etc) requires a special licence.

A special licence considers when and where liquor can be sold and appoints one person to be in charge of the sale of liquor or distribution at your event. In some situations the licencing inspector may specify that a general manager's licence is required.

There are costs associated with a special liquor licence. In addition, you should allow at least six weeks when applying for your special licence as approval may need to be sought from various authorities.

Liquor in public places

Additional points to consider when supplying and drinking alcohol in public:

  • there are a number of public places where the consumption of liquor is banned within Auckland city
  • whether a special licence overrides the liquor ban for that designated area.

Sensible hosting

If you are holding a small event with alcohol, here are some handy tips to be a responsible host:

Arrange safe transport for your guests.

Plan to do things other than eating and drinking.

Provide substantial food - not just chippies and appealing non-alcoholic drinks.

Consider serving alcohol in plastic as glass can be a hazard.

Fire permits

Contact us for advice or information on fires in the Auckland city area.

Extending shop trading hours

If you are planning to have your event in an area where there are shops you may wish to invite the shop keepers to extend their trading hours. It may help to contact the local business association to get shop keepers involved in your event. Look in the Yellow Pages under 'Business organisations'.

The Shop Trading Hours Repeal Act 1990 states that retailers can choose their own opening hours for every day of the year other than on Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and until 1pm on Anzac Day. It is an offence to open and trade during any time the law restricts trading.

This act and these restrictions also apply to traders at events. Therefore if you are planning an event for any of these restricted trading days, you will need to seek an exemption to have traders at your event. For further advice contact the Department of Labour.

Amusement device licences/fireworks

Event organisers must use licensed amusement device contractors within the Auckland city area. Contact us for more information or to obtain a list of licensed contractors.

Environmental risk management authority certificates are required for fireworks displays and amusements devices.

For more information, contact Occupational Safety and Health Service or New Zealand Fire Service (NZ Fire Service guide to outdoor fireworks display).

Fire hydrant permits

If there is no water supply on site, you may be able to use a fire hydrant instead. For more information on using fire hydrants, contact Metrowater

Temporary building permits

Structures such as tents, marquees, scaffolding, art works etc. may require a temporary building consent from us.

If your structure is:

  • over 50m2
  • a stage 1m high or above
  • sculpture 2m high or above

you will require a building consent.

Temporary building consent application help sheet (60kb) PDF

To view PDFs download Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website. Further help on how to view PDFs.

We can assist you through this process. Contact us to discuss further.

Consultation

If your event is likely to attract large crowds or if it involves amplified sound or road closures, traffic control or parking restrictions you will need to consult with nearby business and/or residents.

Road closures, parking restrictions and traffic control will affect residents' access to their properties and may also impact on workers accessing their place of business or customers accessing commercial properties and shops.

Before implementing road closures, traffic control or parking restrictions, you will need to consider how to maintain effective access for locals impacted by the event. This can be done by consultation with us, we will in turn liaise with the appropriate agencies on your behalf. You could provide residents with special passes which allow them easy vehicle access to their properties.

If your event is likely to impact a business area, it's best to limit the event time to a day or time of day when the businesses are not open. That way your event will not impact on their trading and won't prevent them from conducting their business. Alternatively, you could design the event to get the local businesses on board. Perhaps they could set up stalls in the street or cafes/restaurants could extend their trading hours.

The best way to communicate the details of your event to those who may be affected by it is to deliver a letter to all the resident/businesses within the impact area. If the area is small, you could deliver the letter personally. However, if the area is large, you could get the letter delivered by a professional agency.

The letter should include

  • the name of the activity
  • the name of the organiser
  • the general nature of the activity
  • the duration of the activity including set up and pack down periods
  • the organiser's contact details before and on the day of the event (including mobile phone numbers)
  • the relevant contact details for appropriate local council officers

If your event is being held in an open public space in Auckland city, a draft of this flyer should be provided to us for approval at least four weeks prior to its distribution.

Contact us for advice on the best form of consultation and areas which may require extra liaison.

Updated January 2010