What's the deal with shops opening over Easter weekend?

With the Easter long weekend coming up, a number of rules affect which shops can and can't open on certain days.

There are no special rules affecting trading on Saturday, and Easter Monday isn't a problem either — it's an ordinary public holiday, and standard public holiday rules apply.

But specific restrictions affect trading tomorrow and Easter Sunday. Here's what it means:

Good Friday is both a public holiday and a restricted trading day, like Christmas Day or ANZAC Day (before 1pm).

Opening at any time on Good Friday is an offence — unless you're an exception to the rules.

Shops that can open with conditions include dairies, service stations, and cafes, while pharmacies can open without any conditions.

Most supermarkets will be closed. However, some places have area exemptions, like Queenstown.

Anyone wanting to buy beer or wine tomorrow is out of luck, with liquor stores not included in the exemptions — but bars, cafes or restaurants that meet the conditions to open can sell alcohol with a meal.

If a shop opens without fitting one of the exemption categories, the "occupier" of the shop can be fined up to $1000.

If you're not sure whether you can trade tomorrow, Employment NZ has an online tool to help.

Easter Sunday is a restricted trading day but not a public holiday.

It's also covered by specific rules that mean shops can choose to open if their local council lets them.

Retail NZ has compiled a list of which districts allow shops to open, and which don't.

Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are among the council districts where shops cannot open unless exempt.

However, certain area exemptions apply again. For example, Auckland's Parnell Rd is exempt on Easter Sunday from 10am to 6pm, even though the rest of the city is under strict restrictions.

In areas where trading is restricted, supermarkets will again be closed.