Easter trading rules 2025: Store closures and exemptions explained
Easter weekend will see most stores closed due to the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990.
Good Friday and Easter Sunday have restricted trading, with exemptions for essential services and specific areas.
Public holiday surcharges apply on Good Friday and Easter Monday, with alcohol sales regulated separately.
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Expect New Zealand towns and cities to be a little sleepier this weekend, as Easter delivers a four-day break for Kiwis and most shops closed this Friday and Sunday.
Under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990, retail stores in Aotearoa are required to close over three-and-a-half days every year.
With Good Friday and Easter Sunday counting for two of the restricted trading days, this weekend looks especially different for employers, workers and customers.
In 2016, the act was amended to let councils set their own local Easter Sunday trading policies - although Good Friday remains a restricted trading day under the changes.
Regulations and bylaws vary across the country, complicating rules around which stores can actually open over the long weekend.
Here’s what to expect to help you plan ahead this Easter.
What can open?
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Nationwide, only certain shops are permitted to open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, depending on what they sell.
According to Employment NZ, shops can open on these days if they’re defined as one of the following:
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Small grocery shop
Service station
Restaurant
Cafe
Takeaway store
Duty-free store
Service-providing shop (e.g. barber)
Real estate agency
Pharmacy
Garden centre (Easter Sunday only)
Certain shops in public transport stations
Certain shops at an exhibition, show, or market
Souvenir shop
Exempt stores are also subject to restrictions that dictate what they can and can’t sell.
Retail NZ says open stores should only sell services or essential goods. This includes items “people can’t put off buying until the next day, such as baby formula or pet food”.
The rules for each day still look a little different, as Good Friday is a public holiday and a restricted trading day, Easter Sunday is also restricted but not a public holiday, and Easter Monday is a public holiday without trading restrictions.
If you’re eating out on Good Friday or Easter Monday, prepare to pay a public holiday surcharge. This is typically set at 15%.
What can’t open?
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Supermarkets are not allowed to trade on Good Friday and Easter Sunday - but smaller grocery stores and dairies are exempt.
Cafes, restaurants and bars can open, but can only serve alcohol if patrons buy a meal with their drink, while off-licence stores must remain closed on both days, with alcohol sales regulated separately by the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.
Of course, shops in areas with valid exemptions can open under local Easter Sunday policies.
Who’s exempt from the national restrictions?
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Although the main city councils have yet to introduce their own Easter Sunday trading bylaws, some have exempt areas with shops permitted to open.
For Auckland, that’s Parnell Village, while Christchurch’s Arts Centre can open its doors too.
Queenstown, Paihia and Taupō are designated tourist destinations and are exempt from the national Easter trading restrictions, meaning they can open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Shops in Picton’s Mariners Mall can trade on both days too, but a cruise ship must be docked in port to allow Easter Sunday trading to occur.
Golden Bay businesses have an exemption from the Tasman District Council to trade on Easter Sunday if they wish.
Wellington, Porirua and Lower Hutt do not have any exempt areas, while Dunedin’s Carnegie Centre can only sell arts and crafts.
Since 2016, councils have been able to roll out their own local Easter Sunday trading policies over a specific area or their whole district.
Most regional and district councils have adopted their own trading policies and rules since the amendment was passed.
For example, all shops in places like the Far North, Hauraki, Marlborough and Tauranga are permitted to open on Easter Sunday, although they can also choose to remain closed.
Others, mostly city councils, lack a local policy or only have certain areas exempt, meaning stores within their jurisdiction remain subject to the Shop Trading Hours Act’s restrictions.
This includes, but is not limited to, the councils governing Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Hutt City, Christchurch and Dunedin.
How to tell if a shop is allowed to open
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If you’re struggling to decipher which stores are exempt from Easter restrictions, a good rule of thumb is to check whether it’s selling goods or a service.
Stores offering services, such as hairdressers or beauty salons, are able to open, but they can only sell services, not tangible goods.
For example, you can open a spa facility on either day to sell treatments such as massages and facials, but cannot sell products such as skincare or massage oils for customers to take home.
If you’re still unsure, check with a store directly before visiting.
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Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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37.1% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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62.9% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
🎉 Riddle me this, legends! 🎉
He/She who makes it, sells it.
He/She who buys it, doesn't use it.
The user doesn't know they are using it.
What is it?
(Shezz from Ngāruawāhia kindly provided this head-scratcher ... thanks, Shezz!)
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
The Bible Declares That God is Bringing Jews Back To Their Ancient Land of Israel
The Bible reveals that God has chosen and cherished one specific people and one specific land to serve as the stage for revealing His plan and purpose to all nations. As we read in Deuteronomy chapter 7, verse six, speaking of the Jews: “The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
God’s ultimate purpose is to transform the world by establishing His Divine Rule in His new Kingdom based in Jerusalem. This will occur when Jesus Christ returns as King during a time of great trouble. At that moment, God will intervene to save first the Jewish people from destruction and gather them from all parts of the earth. Upon Christ’s return, God will put out a Call to be universally honoured, and a lasting peace will finally be established throughout the World. This has been his design from Creation which was told to the Fathers of Isreal first and then to the rest of the World by the teaching of Jesus and then his disciples in the New Testament.
**Exile and the Promise of Return**
Today, the Jewish people have often been cursed and despised among the nations. However, the prophets foretold that when Jesus returns, God will settle them in the land of Israel in security and safety. The historical rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah resulted in their greatest exile from the land, a dispersion that has lasted for approximately two thousand years.
Yet, in direct fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, God is now regathering the Jews to their ancestral homeland. As the prophet Isaiah declares, “For the Lord will have mercy upon Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land” (Isaiah 14:1). While Israel was scattered by God due to their failure to live obediently as His chosen nation, God promised He would never utterly forsake them. The prophet Ezekiel confirms this, stating,
“Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land” (Ezekiel 37:21).
**Fulfilment: The Modern State of Israel**
The promise of God to bring His people back to the land is proven and demonstrated by the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948. The Word of God declared,
“I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord, and I will cause them to return to the land” (Jeremiah 30:3).
Since 1948, we have witnessed Jews returning from all over the world to occupy the ancient land that was promised to the fathers of the nation: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This movement fulfils the words of Ezekiel:
“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24).
The undeniable return of the Jews to the land of Israel demonstrates that God is sovereignly guiding their destiny. Because we see these specific prophecies fulfilled, we can be assured that those prophecies yet to be fulfilled will also come to pass.
**God’s Unseen Hand in the Regathering**
The regathering of the Jews to the land of Israel is fundamentally the work of Almighty God in our time. It is not simply a political movement driven by the desire of the Jewish people to establish a nation and homeland. Rather, God’s unseen hand is behind the events that have led to the revival of the nation of Israel.
The Bible emphasises God’s personal involvement in this return through numerous passages:
- “Behold, I will save my people... and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem” (Zechariah 8:7-8).
- “I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return” (Jeremiah 30:10).
- “I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities” (Amos 9:14).
- “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel” (Micah 2:12).
**Conclusion: A Sign of Christ’s Return**
God is regathering Israel today. The very existence of the modern State of Israel is a clear and powerful sign that Almighty God is working amongst the nations. The Bible states that He “shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12). This prophetic work is underway.
Israel sees their return as prophetical, but few understand that God will create events where first they will eventually be humbled by her neighbours before Christ returns as their Saviour. Read Ezekiel 38 & 39 to gain an incite as to what God's destiny fot Israel is.
We have seen for the last 125 years, the call for their return to their Homeland and its subsequent founding. This is God's reassurance to the World that He'll bring the World under His Blessing. Because of this, we can be confident that Jesus Christ will soon return to this earth to establish the Kingdom of God, a time of peace and plenty for every nation.
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