Information for or about Specialist Vape Retailers

On this page:

• Becoming a specialist vape retailer (SVR)
• Applying to be a specialist vape retailer
• Applications for approved vaping premises
• Restrictions on proximity of specialist vape retailers
• Obligations of specialist vape retailers
• Exemptions for specialist vape retailers
• Ownership changes
• Cancellations

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Becoming a specialist vape retailer (SVR)

A retailer can apply to become a specialist vape retailer if:

• they sell vaping products in New Zealand from at least one retail premises
• the retail premises from which they will sell vaping products is a fixed, permanent structure
• the proportion of their sales from vaping products from their retail premises is at least 70%, or at least 60% if the Vaping Regulatory Authority are satisfied that the lower sales threshold is appropriate in the circumstances.
• they are located at least 300 metres away from the boundary of a school or marae.

The sales threshold relates only to the retailer’s physical retail premises – there is no minimum requirement for sales through their website(s) but a specialist vape retailer must sell vaping products at retail price via their approved internet site(s).

An online-only business (ie, without a physical store) cannot be a specialist vape retailer as they do not have physical retail premises. However, online-only businesses may operate as wholesale distributors of vaping products, provided they do not sell direct to the public. 

You can view and search a list of the specialist vape retailers in New Zealand via the SVR register in HARP.

Applying to be a specialist vape retailer

If you wish to trade as a specialist vape retailer you need to apply to the Vaping Regulatory Authority and have your store(s) and any website approved.

There is a fee for applications to become a specialist vape retailer, and a separate fee for each approved vaping premises/stores and each approved internet site that is assessed as part of an application.

The fees are:

1. Specialist vape retailer (SVR) $1600 plus GST (one-off fee)
2. Approved vaping premise (AVP) $600 plus GST (one-off fee per premise)
3. Approved internet site (AIS) $600 plus GST (one-off fee per website).

All applications are considered by the Authority on a case-by-case basis.

A specialist vape retailer may apply for new approved vaping premises or approved internet sites at any time by submitting additional applications through the Health Advisory and Regulatory Platform (HARP). They must have approval from the Authority before they start trading from those places.

Applications for approved vaping premises

The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 came into effect from 1 January 2023.

Under the new provisions in the Act, when assessing applications for specialist vape retailers (SVR) to operate from approved vaping premises (AVP), the Vaping Regulatory Authority (VRA) will now also specifically consider whether the retail premises specified by the SVR in their application are appropriate premises from which to operate. The Director-General of Health cannot approve a person to be a SVR if this condition is not satisfied [see section 20P(2)(a)(ii) of the Act].

The requirement for SVRs to operate from appropriate premises supports a key purpose of the Act, which is to provide for the regulation of vaping products in a way that seeks to minimise harm, especially to children and young people. Harm can be minimised by reducing the normalisation of vaping and reducing young people’s and children’s exposure to the availability of vaping products.

See below for guidance on matters the VRA will be taking into consideration when assessing an application as a SVR under the new provisions.

Restrictions on proximity of specialist vape retailers

From 21 September 2023 new applications received by the VRA that relate to premises within 300 metres of a school or marae will not be approved. If a school or marae is found to be within 300 metres of the specified premises, then the application will be declined. We will not refund assessment fees. For more information please refer to::

• Proximity requirements for approval of specialist vape retailers

Considerations for assessing applications for approval as a SVR

The intention of assessment is to consider whether the premises are appropriate in light of the purposes of the Act and would enable the applicant to comply with the Act, with the following being considerations the Ministry may take into account.

• Whether the AVP is at least 300 metres from the boundary of a school or marae. 
• Whether any emissions within the AVP would be able to pass directly into any other place where people are working [see section 14(1)(a)].
• Whether staff would always be present in the AVP when it is open, so they are able to carry out age-checks before people enter [see section 14(2)]
• Whether the AVP would have clearly identifiable points of entry, which do not permit under-18s [see section 14(2)]
• Whether the AVP would be directly accessible from a public thoroughfare (e.g., public pavement, public walkway, walkway in a mall) [see section 20P(1)]
• Whether the AVP would be a public place, meaning that the public can enter the premises during opening hours [see section 20P(1)]
• Whether customers would be served inside the AVP [see section 20P(1)]
• Whether there would be a point of sale inside the AVP [see section 20P(1)]
• Whether the AVP would be a fixed permanent structure [see section 20P(2)(a)(i)], meaning it will be a structure that is:
  • fixed rather than mobile, and cannot be easily moved
  • permanent rather than temporary, and cannot be easily deconstructed
• Whether the primary purpose of the AVP would be to sell vaping products, and the primary reason people will enter the AVP would be to purchase vaping products (such that sales threshold requirements would be met) [see section 20P(2)(b)]
• Whether the entranceway to the AVP is separate from the entranceway to any other premises [see section 20P(1)].
• Whether the AVP’s doorway is completely separate from the doorway of any other premises [see section 20P(1)].
• Whether the AVP’s entrance door operates completely independently from any other premises’ entrance door [see section 20P(1)].

Obligations of specialist vape retailers

There are obligations of persons selling notifiable products for all retailers in New Zealand that SVRs must comply with.

For example:

A specialist vape retailer must take all practicable steps to prevent people aged under 18 from entering their approved vaping premises.

Specialist vape retailers (and manufacturers and importers) must also keep sales records and provide annual reports and returns to the Vaping Regulatory Authority. The reports and returns will be due with the VRA by 31 January each year for the previous calendar year. Detailed annual reporting requirements are set out in the regulations.

A specialist vape retailer must continue to meet the minimum sales threshold for their store if they wish to continue operating as a specialist vape retailer from that store.

Exemptions for specialist vape retailers

A specialist vape retailer’s approved vaping premises are exempt from the prohibition on vaping within workplaces that came into force on 11 November 2020. This allows specialist vape retailers to demonstrate the safe use of vaping products and means customers can try products before purchasing them.

A specialist vape retailer may also display their business or trading name at the outside of their place of business even if it contains a word derived from ‘vape’.

Specialist vape retailers are also exempt from a number of prohibitions on advertising vaping products. Specialist vape retailers may:

• communicate about vaping products to their existing customers, including via email, online messaging, or social media, provided this complies with any relevant regulations
• talk to customers inside their approved vaping premises about vaping products, provided this complies with any relevant regulations
• provide guidance on the safe use of the vaping products available in their approved vaping premises
• distribute vaping products free or at a reduced charge from their approved vaping premises or approved internet site
• offer the purchaser of vaping products a gift or cash rebate, or the right to participate in a contest, lottery, or game, in consideration for their purchase sell any flavour of vaping products as long as they are notified products
• sell any flavour of vaping products as long as they are notified products.

Ownership changes

Information regarding ownership changes for specialist vape retailer (SVR), approved vaping premises (AVP) and approved internet site (AIS) is explained below and the actions required through Health Advisory and Regulatory Platform (HARP). If you are uncertain which situation is most applicable to you, please email [email protected]

Changing the AVP location

As the current SVR holder you must;

1. notify the Vaping Regulatory Authority (VRA) via [email protected] that you:

   1. are changing AVP address, AND
   2. indicate the date you will stop all trading as an SVR from the old premises.
2. Withdraw your existing AVP approval in HARP (or email [email protected] with authorisation to withdraw it on your behalf).
3. Submit and pay for a new AVP application for the new vaping premises.
4. Please be aware that any new applications will be assessed under the current legislation. See Information for or about Specialist Vape Retailers.

An example for this ownership change:

The lease for your current vape premises is ending, and you have decided to move your vape store to a new building.

Changes to director(s) and/or shareholder(s) of a company listed as an SVR

The SVR, AVP and AIS approvals are not affected by changes to shareholders or directors of a company that is an SVR. That is because a company has its own “legal personality”, and the approvals remain with it despite changes to its ownership.

We know though that directors and shareholders are often the administrative contact for the company when contacting the Vaping Regulatory Authority. An administrative contact is someone that has the authority to contact the Vaping Regulatory Authority and act on the company’s behalf.

If you want to change who this administrative contact is, both the old and new administrative contacts (directors, shareholders or applicant acting on behalf) must;

1. notify [email protected] with confirmation of the change in administrative contact and the date that this change is expected to start.
2. The new administrative contact needs to set up an account in the HARP system.
3. Once HARP access has been granted, the new administrator will automatically have access to the company’s SVR, AVP and AIS approvals.
4. The VRA will remove the old administrator's access once the new administrator has access to the business account in HARP.

An example for this ownership change:

You are the owner of ABC Vape Limited, a company that holds an SVR approval, and has approval to operate their physical vape store as an AVP at 123 High Street. You decide to sell all your shares in the company to another person, and the company will continue to sell vaping products from their AVP at 123 High Street.  Because the company is its own legal entity, the changes to its directors and shareholders does not change its New Zealand Business Number (NZBN). In this situation, the SVR and AVP approvals remain unchanged because those approvals belong to the company, not its directors and shareholders. The new administrator will want to contact the Vaping Regulatory Authority, so that we know who best to contact on behalf of ABC Vape Limited.

Selling an AVP business to another person or entity

The SVR, AVP and AIS approvals cannot be transferred between entities. For instance, these approvals cannot be transferred from one sole-trader to another, or from a sole-trader to a company.  Where an AVP changes hands, a new AVP application must be submitted, and the associated fee paid.

Both the old and new owners must;

1. notify [email protected] with confirmation of the change and the expected commencement date.
2. The old owner needs to withdraw their AVP (and, if applicable, SVR and/or AIS) approval (or provide the VRA authorisation to withdraw them on the owner’s behalf) before/or on the commencement date.
3. The new owner needs to register in HARP and submit and pay for a new AVP (and, if applicable, SVR and/ or AIS) application.
4. Please note that any new applications will be assessed under the current legislation, so premises that have been approved in the past may not be approved now. See Information for or about Specialist Vape Retailers.

Here’s an example of this ownership change:

You are a sole-trader operating as a specialist vape retailer and you sell your business to another person. Even though the new owner intends to sell from the same premises, the new owner will need to apply to be an SVR and gain approval for the store to be an AVP. You will need to withdraw your AVP approval once you sell your business.

You are a sole-trader operating as a specialist vape retailer. You decide to become a limited liability company to run the vape store. Even if you will be the only director and shareholder of the new company, because the store will be operated by a different legal entity than before, you will need to apply to be an SVR with the newly incorporated limited liability company and gain approval for the store to be an AVP. You will then need to withdraw your AVP approval for the sole-trader, once the AVP and SVR have been approved and transferred to the company.

Cancellations

At any time a retailer may cancel their status as an approved specialist vape retailer by informing the Vaping Regulatory Authority through HARP.

The Director-General of Health may also suspend or cancel a retailer’s status as a specialist vape retailer if there are reasonable grounds to believe they are not complying with any required criteria or conditions.