Anzac Day: what your group can and cannot do

Outdoor: weather matters

Anzac Day is a commemoration, not a fundraising theme: volunteer as Poppy Day collectors for the RSA, and if you sell, keep to an Anzac biscuit stall within the law.

Typically raises

$200

$0–600 per eventest.

About $29 per organiser hour

Based on one small Anzac biscuit stall

Is it right for us?

Money: Under $500
Work: An afternoon
Helpers: 3–6 people
Lead time: 1–2 months
Red tape: Some

Fairly common: Poppy Day collecting is familiar; fundraising off it is not

People: Poppy collecting: as many as your local RSA asks for. Biscuit stall: 3-6 (estimate)
Organiser time: 4-10 hours (estimate)
Lead time: Contact your local RSA by March; Poppy Day was 17 April in 2026 (RSA)
Up-front cost: $50. Baking ingredients for a biscuit stall (estimate); poppies and collection tins come from the RSA.
Risk: None for collecting; low for baking.

Can suit, but rarely run by: Primary or intermediate school, High school, Scouts or Guides, Cadets (ATC, Sea Cadets), Sports club or team, Community group, marae or service club

When: Autumn (Mar–May), Anzac Day

How big a job: An afternoon, 3–6 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Take about $250, pay about $50 of costs, and you keep about $200 per event: the typical result for one small Anzac biscuit stall.

From the typical figure on this page. Your result will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Poppy Day donations go to the RSA, not your group, so they count as $0 for you (RSA). A small Anzac biscuit stall might clear $100-600 (estimate). No NZ benchmark found.

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Decide what you are doing: helping the RSA (poppies), or a small group fundraiser (biscuits). Keep them separate.
For poppies, contact your local RSA early; 'Local RSAs are always looking for volunteers... especially collecting on Poppy Day' (RSA).
Roster collectors in pairs, with a parent for under-18s, at the sites the RSA gives you.
Hand every tin back sealed to the RSA; your group keeps nothing.
For a biscuit stall, bake traditional Anzac biscuits and label them 'Anzac biscuits'.
Hold the stall after the dawn and civic services, or after 1pm on 25 April if it sells anything other than food ready to eat (Employment New Zealand).
Do not call your event 'Anzac Fun Run', 'Anzac Raffle' or similar; ask the Ministry (national.symbols@mch.govt.nz) if unsure (Marketing Association guidance).
Consider giving part of the biscuit takings to the RSA; it reads better and fits the day (estimate).
Thank the RSA publicly and share photos of your collectors.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Members to pass the ask on to people they know.
Ask people to buy: People and businesses to give.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 3–4 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

Asking people yourselfMost yeses come from someone asking directly. Give every member a short message they can send to family and workmates.
Email lists and group chatsYour members’ email list and the class, team or church group chats. Short, with one date or one link.
School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: NeededA public space (park, street, beach)
Landowner’s permission: NeededYes, in writing
Council permit: CheckCheck with your council
Food rules: CheckNo registration if you sell food to fundraise for a good cause up to 20 times a calendar year. It must still be safe and suitable, and your council may need a stall permit
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: Not neededNot gambling

'Anzac' is protected under s17 of the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981; traditional 'Anzac biscuits' and 'Anzac Day' events on or near 25 April are allowed. Poppy Day money goes to the RSA under its collection arrangements. Stalls cannot open before 1pm on 25 April unless selling food ready to eat.

Make more from it

Anzac biscuit stall
$100-600 (estimate)
the one Anzac-named product groups can sell without asking

Stack it: on its own, about $200. With the add-on above, roughly

$600est.

What you can get donated

Your group gives time to the RSA; baking ingredients from families.

Tips

Volunteering for Poppy Day earns goodwill with the RSA, which often has halls and community networks your group can use later (estimate).
'Anzac Day' is fine for an event held on 25 April or the days around it; 'Anzac' alone is not (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).
Most RSAs had a mix of old plastic and new paper poppies in 2026 (RNZRSA).

Watch out for

Using 'Anzac' in a product or event name other than biscuits can bring fines (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).
A stall selling general goods on the morning of 25 April breaks shop trading rules (Employment New Zealand).
Being seen to profit from Anzac Day can damage your group's reputation; keep it modest.

Free tools for this

Checklist for any ideaBefore, on the day and after, built from this idea’s own steps and rules.

Typical rules

The word 'Anzac' is protected: section 17 of the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 lets the Governor-General ban its use in trade or business, and 1916 Gazette notices did so (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).
Allowed without asking: 'Anzac biscuits' that follow the traditional recipe and shape (not cookies, slices, loaves or muesli bars), and 'Anzac Day' for an event held on or around 25 April. An 'Anzac Day sale' is fine; an 'Anzac Sale' is an offence (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).
Other uses need guidance from the Ministry, which weighs commemorative link, RSA views and charitable purpose. Fines up to $5,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a body corporate (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).
Poppy Day collecting is the RSA's appeal: money goes to the RSA. Poppies are 'gifted in return for a donation of any size' (RSA). Do not make or sell your own poppies or raise money for your group under the poppy (estimate).
Shop Trading Hours Act 1990: shops, including stalls and markets, cannot open before 1pm on 25 April unless exempt; selling food ready to eat is one exemption. The restriction stays on the actual date even if it falls on a weekend (Employment New Zealand).
Food sold at a stall is covered by the Food Act 2014 fundraising exemption if you sell fewer than 20 times a year (MPI).

Check the details

Sources

Researched October 2026. All fundraising ideas

* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide