How to organise events

Licences

Food stalls and permits
Liquor licences
Fire permits
Extending shop trading hours
Amusement device licences/fireworks
Fire hydrant permits
Temporary building permits
Consultation

Food stalls and permits

Food stall licences are necessary for everyone selling food at an event. They are separate from the trading licence and the event permit that you require as the organiser, and are all about ensuring the public are safe when eating at your event.

Process

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.
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.
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.
Any vendors who have not completed basic food hygiene training in the past will need to attend the free training session before the event. This can often be combined with any stallholders meeting that you are planning to hold.
We will then issue the temporary food stall licences which will need to be displayed at each stall.
We suggest that you use traders who are approved by us and already hold a valid mobile food van/stall licence. If not already licensed, we reserve the right to either refuse licences or limit the number of one day food stalls at your event.
Inspectors try to attend every event but will target the high-risk events during busy periods. At the inspection, they may suggest further measures to improve the conditions of a stall or the event.
After the event, we will invoice you for all of the stall fees.

Types of licences

Mobile food van/stall licences can be issued on a daily, monthly, 6 monthly or 12 monthly basis. Many registered mobile food vans hold the 6 monthly or 12 monthly permits and these are acceptable for trading at events and festivals.

Daily food permits 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 are licences held by registered food premises and allow trading from that address. This licence often includes a good grade. They do not cover trading off site at festivals or events. A separate mobile food 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?

$30 per stall, per day or an hourly rate of $130 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?

A food premises licence relates to the fixed address of a registered kitchen, so to operate out of a stall they will still require a food stall licence. At our discretion, they may not be required to attend the food hygiene training.

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

No, as long as their mobile food licence is valid and has not expired then they will not require another food stall licence from council. We recommend that as the organiser you request a copy of their current licence to make sure that it is valid.

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

They do need to obtain an Auckland City Council food stall licence to trade in Auckland city, but depending on the issuing council, we may allow them to trade on their existing licence for a one-off event.

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 want to supply alcohol at your event, you will need to obtain a special liquor licence. According to the Sale of Liquor Act, anyone supplying or selling alcohol outside of their residential property (eg, outdoor spaces and community halls etc) requires a special licence. A liquor ban is in effect in some public places.

There are guidelines about when and where liquor can be sold. Additionally you will be required to appoint one person to be in charge of liquor sale or distribution at your event. In some situations the licensing 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.

Fire permits

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.

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 30m²
a stage 1m high or above
sculpture 2m high or above

you will require a building consent.

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.

Updated August 2008