What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Pervinder Davies Law

Home
New Zealand
Christchurch
Pervinder Davies Law

Leading Provider of Specialist Legal
Services in Alcohol Licensing Law, New Zealand

31/07/2026

📢 Employment Leave Act 2026 — what it means for licensed premises

Parliament has repealed the Holidays Act 2003, replacing it with the Employment Leave Act 2026. For hospitality venues and alcohol retailers — where casual and part-time staff carry much of the trading load, especially over public holidays — this is a significant shift.

Why it matters for hospitality & alcohol retail industry:

🍺 Casual bar/floor staff — under the new "additional and casual hours" category, these staff won't accrue annual or sick leave in the usual way. Instead, you'll pay a 12.5% leave compensation payment on top of wages. Time to review casual staffing costs.

🍺 Public holiday trading — a new "otherwise working day" (OWD) test replaces the old, often-disputed method for working out holiday pay and entitlements. Relevant for premises regularly trading on Christmas Day, New Year's, Easter, and other high-volume holiday periods.

🍺 Hours-based accrual — leave will accrue in hours rather than weeks/days, which should better reflect the variable rosters common in hospitality.

🍺 Duty managers & standard-hours staff — most will simply see entitlements converted from days to hours under their existing contracts.

🍺 Past underpayments — a formal remediation process is being introduced for historic Holidays Act liabilities, relevant if you've had payroll or roster complexity in the past.

⏳ Transition: most employers get a 2-year window to update payroll systems before the new Act takes effect — but now is the time to start reviewing rosters, casual staffing arrangements, and public holiday pay practices.

If you hold an alcohol licence and want to understand how this affects your business and compliance, get in touch — happy to walk through it.

25/07/2026

Happy 2nd Birthday to Pervinder Davies Law. ❤️

Two years ago, I took a leap of faith and started something that reflected who I am and the way I wanted to practise law.

Building a business hasn’t always been easy. There have been moments of excitement, moments of uncertainty, long hours, and plenty of sacrifices. There have also been moments where I’ve wondered if I was good enough or whether I was making the right decisions. But every challenge has shaped me into a better lawyer, business owner, and person.

What I’m most proud of isn’t simply reaching two years. It’s the relationships I’ve built, the trust my clients have placed in me, and knowing that I’ve been able to help people through some of the most important decisions and challenging situations they face.

Running your own business can feel lonely at times, but it also reminds you how many incredible people are quietly cheering you on. To my clients, colleagues, friends, family, and everyone who has supported, referred, encouraged, or believed in me—thank you. Every conversation, recommendation, and word of encouragement has meant more than you probably realise.

Two years feels like both a lifetime and the blink of an eye. I’m proud of how far Pervinder Davies Law has come, but I know this is only the beginning.

Here’s to the next chapter, continuing to grow, learning every day, and helping even more people along the way.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Pervinder Davies Law. 🥂

15/07/2026

We’re looking forward to attending the NZ Indian Business Association’s Annual Event on 26 July.

It’s always a great opportunity to catch up with familiar faces, make new connections, and hear about the exciting things happening across New Zealand’s Indian business community.

If you’re attending, we’d love to meet you. Whether you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or simply interested in growing your network, come and say hello. It’s always good to put faces to names and have a chat.

See you on 26 July!

24/06/2026

What's the strangest alcohol licensing myth you've heard?

Over the years, I've heard a few. 😊

"You can transfer a liquor licence to a new owner when you buy a business."

"If nobody objects, the licence is automatically granted."

"A bottle store can sell whatever it wants as long as alcohol is part of the business."

"My licence renewals have always been approved, so this renewal can't be challenged."

The reality is that alcohol licensing is full of assumptions that get passed from one owner, manager, or industry colleague to the next.

Sometimes those assumptions are harmless.

Sometimes they can lead to costly mistakes, delays, or a lot of unnecessary stress.

One of the most common things I see is people relying on what worked for someone else, in a different area, under different circumstances, and assuming the same outcome will apply to them.

But alcohol licensing is rarely that simple.

Every application has its own facts.

Every premises has its own context.

And every licensing decision turns on the specific circumstances in front of the decision-makers.

That's one of the things that makes this area of law so interesting.

No two applications are ever quite the same.

So I'll throw the question out there:

What's the biggest alcohol licensing myth or misconception you've heard in the hospitality or alcohol retail industry?

20/06/2026

⚖️🤝 Need legal advice in a language you're comfortable with?

At Pervinder Davies Law, clear communication comes first. Whether it's alcohol licensing, regulatory matters, or legal representation, expert guidance is available in Punjabi, Hindi, and English.

📞 Get professional legal support and discuss your situation with confidence.

16/06/2026

Responding to Agency Concerns on Your Alcohol Licence Application — Without Shooting Yourself in the Foot

If the Police, licensing inspector, or Medical Officer of Health have filed reports opposing or raising concerns about your alcohol licence application, your instinct might be to push back hard.

Resist it.

Here's why — and what to do instead.

Suitability cuts both ways.

Licensing committees don't just assess your premises and trading hours. They assess you. How you engage with the process — including how you respond to agency concerns — tells the committee something about how you'll operate if granted a licence. An applicant who dismisses agency concerns or treats the reporting agencies as adversaries can raise doubts about whether they'll engage constructively with authorities once licensed.

Before the hearing:
— Read every report carefully and identify the specific concerns raised. Vague opposition is different from a targeted objection about security, hours, or locality.

— Where concerns are valid or partially valid, address them proactively. Amend your application, propose conditions, or provide additional evidence. This demonstrates good faith and often narrows the issues before you even walk in.

— Engage with the agencies directly where appropriate. A conversation with the licensing inspector or police licensing officer ahead of the hearing can resolve misunderstandings, signal your willingness to work collaboratively, and sometimes result in concerns being withdrawn or softened.

— Take independent advice on whether proposed conditions would be workable. Accepting unworkable conditions to appear cooperative can cause bigger problems down the line.

At the hearing:
— Acknowledge concerns respectfully, even where you disagree. For example, "We understand the inspector's concern about late-night trading in this area, and here is how our management plan addresses it" lands very differently from "the inspector is wrong."

— Lead with evidence, not emotion. Bring your noise management plan, your host responsibility policy, your security arrangements, your staff training records. Let the documentation do the heavy lifting.

— If you genuinely dispute a factual basis for a concern, do so calmly and specifically. Challenge the evidence, not the agency.

— Where you're offering conditions in response to concerns, be precise. Vague offerings carry little weight.

The agencies aren't your opponents — they're part of the same framework your licence will sit within. Committees notice when an applicant understands that.

14/06/2026

Blue skies, clear views, and Hamilton bound. Pervinder Davies Law on the go again. Grateful for the opportunity to get out and about, supporting clients across New Zealand.

09/06/2026

Need a document witnessed or certified?

At Pervinder Davies Law, we’re proud to support our local community. If you need a document verified — such as a copy of ID, proof of address, or other official paperwork — we’re happy to provide this service at no cost.

No need to call (we’re usually knee-deep in legal things and caffeine). 😊 Just flick us a private message, and we’ll line up a time that works.

Please feel free to share this information with anyone who might find it useful.

04/06/2026

This month marks 10 years since I began my legal career.

A decade feels both like a long time and no time at all.

When I started, I thought being a lawyer was mostly about knowing the law, finding the right answers, and making strong arguments. Ten years later, I’ve learned that the most important part of this profession is people.

It’s the clients who place their trust in you during stressful and uncertain times. The business owners taking risks to build something meaningful. The families navigating difficult decisions. The colleagues, mentors, and friends who challenge you, support you, and help shape the lawyer you become.

Over the years, I’ve worked across a range of legal matters, but one area that has become a particular focus is helping businesses in the alcohol retail and hospitality industry navigate licensing and regulatory requirements. It’s a niche area, but one that sits at the intersection of law, business, community expectations, and practical problem-solving.

Like most careers, the journey hasn’t always been straightforward. There have been wins worth celebrating, lessons learned the hard way, and countless moments that have reinforced the importance of patience, preparation, and perspective.

What I’m most grateful for isn’t simply the number of years. It’s the relationships built, the trust earned, and the opportunity to help people.

Ten years later, I’m still learning, still growing, and still genuinely grateful to be doing work that allows me to help people solve problems and move forward.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey so far. I look forward to what the next decade brings.

02/06/2026

What does an alcohol licence application really involve?

I was speaking with someone recently about a new hospitality and alcohol retail venture they were planning.

They had found a great site, put a lot of thought into the concept, and were excited about finally bringing it to life. Like many business owners, they were also trying to make smart decisions about where to invest their time and money.

The conversation reminded me of something I see often in alcohol licensing.

From the outside, a licence application can look relatively straightforward. Fill out the forms, provide the required documents, and wait for a decision.

But a licence application is rarely just about paperwork.

Whether it's a bar, restaurant, café, grocery store off-licence, or bottle store, the way an application is prepared can influence everything from trading hours and licence conditions to how concerns raised by reporting agencies or the community are addressed.

A licence isn't simply permission to sell alcohol. It's the framework that can shape how a business operates for years to come.

For alcohol retailers in particular, factors such as location, product range, operating model, and community impact can become central to the assessment process. For hospitality operators, issues such as trading hours, events, outdoor areas, and host responsibility often come into focus.

That's why I always encourage applicants to think beyond the application itself.

Ask questions.

Understand the process.

Make sure the people helping you understand the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and the practical realities of the licensing system.

Whether you're working with a lawyer, consultant, accountant, or preparing the application yourself, getting the foundations right at the beginning can save a lot of time, cost, and stress later on.

For many hospitality and alcohol retail businesses, a liquor licence is one of the most important regulatory approvals they'll ever obtain.

It's worth taking the time to get it right.

Address

Christchurch

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+64 21 214 0191

Website

https://PervinderDaviesLaw.co.nz/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Pervinder Davies Law posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Pervinder Davies Law:

Want your practice to be the top-listed Law Practice in Christchurch?