Alcohol — New Zealand
What travelers need to know about alcohol in New Zealand. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Alcohol in New Zealand: restricted — there are real limits travelers must follow.
New Zealand councils draw alcohol ban areas street by street, and inside one a police officer can search your bag and your car without a warrant, seize your drink and fine you NZ$250 on the spot. There is no national map - the boundaries change from one council to the next, so check the local council before you carry a drink outdoors.
NZ$250 infringement fee (Local Government (Alcohol Ban Breaches) Regulations 2013, reg 4, in force 18 December 2013; the same NZ$250 appears in the New Zealand Police penalty table, alongside NZ$250 for buying alcohol underage or presenting false evidence of age and NZ$200 for anyone under 18 drinking in a public place unaccompanied). Police may also search a bag or vehicle without warrant, seize the alcohol, and arrest a person found committing the offence (Local Government Act 2002, s 169). CONFLICT RECORDED: a 2006 NZ Police media release states "People prosecuted for breaching a ban can be fined up to $20,000" - that predates the 2013 insertion of s 239A, which routes alcohol-ban breaches to infringement only. NZ$250 is the current figure.
§ New Zealand - Local Government (Alcohol Ban Breaches) Regulations 2013 reg 4 + Local Government Act 2002 ss 147, 169, 239A; New Zealand Police