Draft Alcohol Fees Bylaw 2025

Waitomo District Council is seeking feedback on the development of the Draft Alcohol Fees Bylaw 2025 (the Bylaw).

Council is proposing the new Bylaw to set fees and charges for alcohol licences in Waitomo District. Introducing this Bylaw would allow Council to set the amount it charges to alcohol licence holders (e.g. bars, alcohol stores and supermarkets), to help cover costs relating to alcohol licensing.

Council is proposing to increase alcohol licensing charges by 35% in July 2025, followed by a further 35% in July 2026 to bring the total cost recovery closer to 100%.

After the initial and secondary increases, the Bylaw will form part of the review of Council’s Fees and Charges Schedule, with the next review anticipated coming into effect on 1 July 2027.

If the Bylaw is adopted alcohol licensing fees would increase as shown in the Draft Alcohol Fees Bylaw 2025 (provided as part of this Statement of Proposal).

Key considerations  

Council currently uses the fees set by legislation. However, these fees have not increased since they came into force in 2013 and do not cover the full cost of the processes associated with licensing activities. This means every time Council processes an alcohol licence it costs more than the fee paid by the licensee. 

Ratepayers have been subsidising these costs and this is expected to grow year on year. Therefore, it is imperative to introduce the Bylaw to enable greater cost recovery.

Costs are increasing due to inflation and an increase in alcohol licensing activities, including more District Licensing Committee hearings, education, monitoring, and enforcement. Costs are expected to continue to increase, in part because of legislative changes. The Bylaw would enable Council to set fees that would recover the costs of undertaking these licensing activities.

Consulting on these options provides an opportunity for Council to discuss the intention of the draft Bylaw, hear community opinions, and consider feedback to the proposal.

Options considered 

Below is a summary of the options considered, and reasons given for the chosen option.

  • Option 1 (Council preferred option): increase alcohol licensing fees by 35% in July 2025, followed by a further 35% in July 2026.
  • Option 2 (status quo): do not adopt an Alcohol Fees Bylaw and continue to charge the alcohol licence fees set by fees regulations.

Summary of the proposed changes

OPTION 1 (preferred)

Creating the bylaw would mean:
  • Council would increase the fees and charges for alcohol licences by 35% in 2025-26.
  • Fees would increase another 35% in 2026-27.
  • Cost recovery would increase from approximately 45% to 60% in the first year of the Bylaw.
  • A portion of the costs would continue to be subsidised by ratepayers – but less than Option 2

OPTION 2 (status quo)

Not adopting the Bylaw would mean:
  • Fees and charges for alcohol licences would not increase. 
  • Council’s cost recovery rate would decrease year-on-year. 
  • Alcohol licensing activities undertaken by Council would continue to be largely funded with ratepayer contributions.

Key dates

WHEN WHAT
28 March 2025 Submissions open
30 April 2025 Submissions close
15 May 2025 Hearings (should people wish to speak to their submissions)
10 June 2005 Deliberations – Council discusses feedback from the community and changes are agreed to if appropriate.
30 June 2025 Council adopts the Bylaw

 

Read the Statement of Proposal and Draft Bylaw (PDF 1.19 MB)

 

Have your say