Offensive Trades

The Health Act 1956 lists the following activities as offensive trades: 

• Blood or offal treating

• Bone boiling or crushing

• Collection and storage of used bottles for sale

• Dag crushing

• Fellmongering

• Fish cleaning

• Fish curing

• Flax pulping

• Flock manufacturing, or teasing of textile material for any purpose

• Gut scraping and treating

• Nightsoil collection and disposal

• Refuse collection and disposal

• Septic tank desludging and disposal of sludge

• Slaughtering of animals for any purpose other than human consumption

• Storage, drying or preserving of bones, hides, hooves or skins

• Tallow melting

• Tanning

• Wood pulping

• Wool scouring

Offensive Trade businesses must  be registered and inspected under the Health Act 1956 and the Health (Registration of Premises) Regulations 1966.   

Please note, it is not permitted to establish any Offensive Trade business  without written  consent from the Council and  the Medical Officer of Health.  All conditions imposed by the Council  or the Medical Officer of Health must be complied with before the business can be registered.

Before you apply:

• Contact our Environmental Health team to discuss your licensing requirements

• Contact a duty planner  to check if it is permitted to operate an Offensive Trade at the proposed address or whether a resource consent is required.

  • Please note that if your activity has a resource consent in place or is  required to apply for one, an Offensive Trades registration may not be required.   Prior to issue of any Offensive Trade registration certificate, we require confirmation that your proposed Offensive Trade business location and activity is permitted under the district plan.

• Be familiar with the Health Act 1956 requirements and Schedule 3 list of Offensive Trades. This sets out all the legal requirements you need to comply with.

  • Health Act 1956

• Contact our building services team to check whether a building consent is required.

  • Please note, prior to issue of your Offensive Trade registration certificate, we will need confirmation that you don’t need a consent or have applied for and been issued either a Code of Compliance Certificate (CCC) or Certificate of Public Use (CPU).

• Contact our Trade Waste Officer to talk about any requirements under Trade Waste Bylaw.

Complete the form below, pay the fee and submit  your application using the following instructions:

How to pay your fees:  

Via online banking: 02 0948 0002000 00.  Please ensure you add  the identifying number, which can be found on the registration certificate (OT##), as a reference.  This will ensure the correct allocation of fees.    If you're a new Offensive Trade, please include your trading name. 

In person at any Council office.  We accept cash, eftpos, Mastercard or Visa.   

How to submit your application

Email it to services@qldc.govt.nz

You can also drop off your completed application at any of our Council offices.  

Please note, a pre-opening inspection will be completed prior to the issue of an Offensive Trade registration certificate.

Once you receive your registration certificate you must clearly display it in a public part of the premises.

You must contact our  Environmental Health team  and apply to transfer the registration into your name within 14 days of taking over the business. 

After this period, the registration lapses and cannot be transferred.  If there is no current registration you need to apply for a new one.

Transfer the registration into your name by completing and submitting the
Offensive Trade registration form and pay the transfer fee.   Please write ‘Transfer only’ when completing the form. 

The annual registration period for Offensive Trade businesses is from 1 October - 30 September each year.

We'll send you a renewal application form and annual registration fee invoice before your expiry date.

New Offensive Trade registration and renewal fee: $300.00 (inc GST)

Offensive Trade registration transfer fee: $72.50 (inc GST)

Get in touch with our Environmental Health team on 03 441 0499 (Queenstown) or 03 443 0024 (Wanaka) or email

services@qldc.govt.nz