Events and permits

Typically

• An event in a council park, reserve or other public place usually needs a council event permit or booking. Many councils ask for four to six weeks' notice.
• Closing or restricting a road usually needs a road-closure application to the council, often three months ahead, plus a traffic management plan.
• Traffic management is now planned under NZTA's New Zealand Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (NZGTTM), which replaces the old code of practice (CoPTTM). Some councils, including Auckland Transport, required NZGTTM plans for new applications from 1 July 2026; check your council's date.
• If your group employs anyone, it is usually a PCBU with duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to manage risks to workers, volunteers and the public. A group run entirely by volunteers with no employees is a 'volunteer association' and has no duties under that Act, but it still owes a common-law duty of care.
• Volunteers who only help with fundraising are usually 'casual volunteers'. Where the Act applies, volunteers must take reasonable care of themselves and others and follow reasonable safety instructions.
• Public liability insurance isn't required by law, but councils often ask for it for public events, especially those with alcohol, structures, road closures, inflatables or animals.
• Street collections and stalls in town centres may need council permission or a licence in some districts.

Checked against the official pages on 8 October 2026.

Ideas this applies to

• Lemonade stand or kids' drink stall
• Anzac Day: what your group can and cannot do
• Float in a Christmas parade
• Charity car wash
• Market stall
• Ground, fence and clubroom signage
• Matariki kite day (manu tukutuku)
• Garage sale, jumble sale or white elephant stall
• Join an existing event instead of running your own (stall, float or collection)
• Trunk-or-treat car-park Halloween event
• Guy Fawkes fireworks night (stall or full display)
• Ticketed Easter egg hunt