About the Invercargill District Licensing Committee

The Invercargill District Licensing Committee (DLC) is responsible for considering and determining licence applications, renewals, variations, suspensions and cancellations in accordance with the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

It is also responsible for considering and determining applications for temporary authority and conducting inquiries and making reports to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

What does the District Licensing Committee do?

The DLC function is to consider alcohol licensing matters within the Invercargill District. It decides on all applications and variations for uncontested licenses and certificates.
Uncontested matters will usually be heard by the District Licensing Committee chair. When there are objections to applications or variations they may be referred to a hearing before the DLC. A Hearing Committee will normally consist of the Chairperson and two Members. Any applicant dissatisfied with the decision or conditions of a licence or certificate has the right to request a hearing. Again, the Committee will be made up of a Chairperson and two Members.
The DLC will decide if special licenses can be varied, suspended or cancelled, and if other licenses can be varied. It will also refer matters to the District Licensing Authority (a higher governing body) if it considers that to be the right course of action.

Committee members

The Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council, and Gore District Council recognise the benefits of working together and have appointed a number of members from all three districts.

Invercargill City Council

Cr Darren Ludlow

Chairperson

darren.ludlow@icc.govt.nz

Cr Ria Bond

Deputy Chairperson

ria.bond@icc.govt.nz

Cr Andrea de Vries

andrea.devries@icc.govt.nz

Southland District Council

Cr Jaspreet Boparai

jaspreet.boparai@southlanddc.govt.nz

Cr Paul Duffy

paul.duffy@southlanddc.govt.nz

Cr Tom O'Brien

tom.o'brien@southlanddc.govt.nz

Gore District Council

Cr Paul McPhail

pmcphail@goredc.govt.nz

Alcohol policy

The Local Alcohol Policy was adopted on 27 April 2026 and came into force on 29 April 2026 (with the exception of maximum trading hours for off-licences, which come in to force 29 June 2026).

The policy helps inform the decisions of the District Licensing Committee on alcohol licences and provides guidance on whether they should be granted and the conditions that may be imposed.

For more information, refer to the Local Alcohol Policy on the Policies page.

Annual report

Each year every Council is required to provide an annual report on the proceedings and operations of its District Licensing Committee (DLC) to the Alcohol Regulatory & Licensing Authority (ARLA) for the period ending 30 June.