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Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012

Sale and supply of alcohol generally - Other enforcement provisions - General enforcement provisions

286: Suspension of licence for non-compliance with public health or fire precaution requirements

You could also call this:

“Licence to sell alcohol can be suspended if you don't follow health and safety rules.”

If you have a licence to sell alcohol, you must follow public health and fire safety rules. A Medical Officer of Health or a FENZ inspector appointed under section 166 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 can ask for your licence to be suspended if you do not follow these rules. This can happen if your actions might hurt people’s health or put them in danger.

You will be given a notice to appear before a committee to explain why your licence should not be suspended. The committee will listen to you and then decide what to do. If the committee thinks you have not followed the rules, it can order you to fix the problems or suspend your licence until you do.

If the committee thinks people’s health or safety is at risk, it must suspend your licence until the problems are fixed. In some cases, the committee might just close part of your premises instead of suspending your licence. This can happen if the problems are not your fault or if closing part of the premises will make it safe.

While your licence is suspended, your premises are not considered licensed. If you do not fix the problems within a certain time, the committee will suspend your licence.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3339810.

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Part 2 Sale and supply of alcohol generally
Other enforcement provisions: General enforcement provisions

286Suspension of licence for non-compliance with public health or fire precaution requirements

  1. A Medical Officer of Health or any person appointed as a FENZ inspector under section 166 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 may apply to the licensing committee for the suspension of the licence if he or she has reason to believe that, because of the failure of the holder of any on-licence or club licence to comply with any requirements described in subsection (2), the health of persons using the premises is likely to be injured or their safety is likely to be endangered.

  2. The requirements are those relating to public health or to the escape of people in the event of fire (whether in accordance with an evacuation scheme for public safety which meets the requirements of section 76 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 or by other means) other than requirements under the Building Act 2004.

  3. The licensing committee must give notice in writing to the licensee calling upon the licensee to appear before the committee at a time and place to be specified in the notice, being not earlier than 7 working days after the giving of the notice, to show cause why the licence should not be suspended.

  4. If, after hearing the licensee (if he or she appears), the licensing committee is satisfied that the licensee has failed to comply with any requirement referred to in subsection (2), it may order the licensee to do all such things as may be necessary to meet those requirements within any reasonable time it may specify, and, in the case of default, may suspend the licence until those requirements have been met.

  5. Despite subsection (3), if, in any case to which that subsection applies, the licensing committee is satisfied that, because of the licensee's failure to comply with any requirement referred to in subsection (2), the health of people using the premises to which the application relates is likely to be injured, or their safety is likely to be endangered, the committee must suspend the licence until it is satisfied that all things necessary or desirable to remedy the default have been done.

  6. Without limiting subsection (3) and despite subsection (4), the licensing committee may, instead of suspending the licence, order the closure of any part of the premises accordingly for the undertaking of the necessary work if, in any case to which subsection (4) applies, the committee is satisfied—

  7. that the risk to the health or the danger to the safety of people using the premises has arisen from any circumstances beyond the control of the licensee or manager; or
    1. that the risk or danger can be averted by ordering the closure of part only of the premises.

      1. If the work is not completed to the satisfaction of the committee within any period as the committee may allow, the committee must suspend the licence under subsection (4).

      2. While any licence is suspended the premises must be treated as not being licensed premises.

      Compare
      Notes
      • Section 286(1): amended, on , by section 197 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (2017 No 17).
      • Section 286(2): amended, on , by section 197 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (2017 No 17).