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Licensing Trust Districts

Licensing trusts are part of a small group of local authorities with boundaries that do not conform with the boundaries of meshblocks. This creates difficulties for the compilation of electoral rolls for the election of trust members.

In 2006, the Local Government Commission reviewed the issue of licensing trust boundaries and made a number of recommendations to the Minister of Local Government and the Minister of Justice. These included recommendations for amendments to the Sale of Liquor Act to permit the Commission to review the boundaries of licensing trust and recommend boundary changes to achieve conformity with meshblock boundaries.

Local Government Commission report (.pdf 199k)

Pending legislative changes the Commission has worked with Statistics New Zealand and the Electoral Enrolment Centre to improve the quality of information about licensing trust boundaries. The Elections New Zealand website includes a listing for each licensing trust with boundaries that split meshblocks. This listing was prepared by the Commission and Statistics New Zealand and is designed to assist electoral officers accurately allocate voting rights to elctors residing at addresses situated in split meshblocks.


The Alcohol Reform Bill was introduced to Parliament on 8 November 2010. While the main purpose of the Bill is to reform the law relating to the sale and consumption of alcohol, it also makes changes to the law governing licensing trusts and community trusts that were formerly licensing trusts. Among those changes are power for the Local Government Commission to review the boundaries of licensing trust districts and wards, and the boundaries of community trusts, to ensure that those boundaries conform with meshblock boundaries.

The clauses in the Bill relevant to this issue are
  • Clause 285 - requiring the boundaries of any new licensing trust district to conform with meshblocks
  • Clause 289 - providing for the boundaries of licensing trusts to be reviewed
  • Clause 322 - providing for the boundaries of licensing trust wards to be reviewed
  • Clause 348 - providing for the boundaries of community trusts to be reviewed
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