Influencer Giveaway Terms And Conditions Checklist

Jess runs a skincare brand in Auckland and wants to launch a giveaway with a beauty creator. The plan sounds simple: the influencer posts a Reel, followers tag a friend, and one winner gets a $450 prize pack.

Then the practical questions start. Who writes the competition terms? Who checks the caption? What happens if the influencer forgets to disclose that the post is paid? Who contacts the winner, pays for shipping, and handles complaints if the prize is delayed?

Influencer giveaways can be a great way to grow your audience, but they work best when your promotional giveaway terms and influencer agreement fit together. Here is what to cover before the post goes live.

Do You Need Written Terms For An Influencer Giveaway?

Yes, you should have written terms for an influencer giveaway in NZ, even if the prize is small or the giveaway only runs on Instagram or TikTok.

Your giveaway terms are the rules for entrants. They tell people who can enter, how the winner is chosen, what the prize is, and what happens if something changes. Your influencer agreement is different. It sets out what the influencer must do for your business.

You usually need both because they protect different relationships:

• Giveaway terms and conditions sit between your business and entrants.
• The influencer agreement sits between your business and the influencer or agency.
• Platform terms sit between you, the influencer and the social media platform.

If you only have one of these covered, gaps can appear quickly. For example, your giveaway terms might say the winner will be announced on Friday, but your influencer agreement might not require the influencer to post the announcement or send you entrant data on time.

Templates can be a useful starting point, but giveaway documents often need tailoring. A promotion for a $50 candle is different from a national campaign with multiple influencers, user-generated content and a high-value prize.

What New Zealand Laws Apply To Social Media Giveaways?

Several New Zealand laws can apply to social media giveaways, depending on how the promotion is structured and what you ask entrants to do.

The main ones to think about are:

• Fair Trading Act 1986: your posts, captions, ads and terms must not mislead people about the prize, entry process, odds of winning, closing time or relationship with the influencer.
• Gambling Act 2003: if the winner is chosen by chance, you need to check whether the promotion is a lawful sales promotion scheme or whether gambling rules create issues.
• Privacy Act 2020: if you collect names, handles, email addresses, delivery addresses or other personal information, you need to be clear about why you collect it and how you'll use it.
• Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007: if you want to add entrants to your email or SMS marketing list, you generally need proper consent and an easy unsubscribe option.
• Consumer Guarantees Act 1993: if you supply goods or services as a prize, you still need to be careful about quality, descriptions and any promises you make.
• Advertising Standards Authority Codes: paid or gifted influencer content should be clearly recognisable as advertising.

New Zealand doesn't have the same state-by-state trade promotion permit system that you may have seen in Australia. That doesn't mean every giveaway is automatically fine. If entrants must buy something, pay extra, call a premium number, subscribe, or complete a task that has real value to your business, get the structure checked before launch.

What Should Your Giveaway Terms And Conditions Include?

Your competition terms and conditions in NZ should clearly explain the entry rules, prize details, winner selection process and your business' rights if something goes wrong.

Here is a fill-in outline you can use as a starting checklist. A lawyer or experienced legal team should tailor the competition terms before you use them, especially if the prize is valuable or the campaign runs across multiple platforms.

1. Promoter details: name your business, NZBN if you have one, and contact details for giveaway questions.
2. Promotion period: state the exact start and closing date and time, including the time zone.
3. Eligibility: say who can enter, such as New Zealand residents aged 18 or over, and who is excluded.
4. How to enter: list the required steps, such as follow, comment, tag or submit a form.
5. Entry limits: explain whether people can enter once or multiple times.
6. Prize details: describe the prize, value if you choose to state it, any exclusions, delivery limits and whether the prize can be exchanged for cash.
7. Winner selection: state whether the winner is chosen by chance or skill, who judges it, and when the decision happens.
8. Winner notification: explain how and when the winner will be contacted, and what they must do to claim the prize.
9. Unclaimed prizes: set out what happens if the winner doesn't respond or is ineligible.
10. Privacy wording: explain what personal information you collect, why, who you may share it with, and how people can contact you.
11. Platform disclaimer: include wording that the promotion isn't sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with the platform, where required.
12. Changes and cancellation: reserve a sensible right to change or cancel the promotion if events outside your control affect it.

Make the full competition terms and conditions easy to find. A good approach is to put a short version in the caption and host the full terms somewhere accessible before entries open.

What Should The Influencer Agreement Cover?

Your influencer agreement should cover the deliverables, approvals, disclosures, content rights, payment, compliance and who does what during the giveaway.

This is where many campaigns fall over. The giveaway terms might be legally sound, but the influencer's caption, story or comments can still create risk if they don't match the terms.

Your influencer agreement should cover:

• Deliverables: the number of posts, stories, Reels, TikToks, live mentions or email inclusions.
• Posting schedule: exact dates, times and any minimum time the content must stay live.
• Approval process: whether you must approve captions, creative, hashtags, winner announcements and edits before posting.
• Mandatory wording: entry steps, closing time, prize description, disclosure language and link or location for full terms.
• Advertising disclosure: clear use of words like ad, paid partnership, gifted or sponsored where relevant.
• Content rights: whether your business can repost, edit, run paid ads using the content, or use it on your website.
• Exclusivity: whether the influencer can promote competitors during the campaign period.
• Compliance promises: that the influencer will follow your brief, platform rules, the Fair Trading Act and advertising standards.
• Reporting: what analytics the influencer must provide, such as reach, clicks, entries or engagement.
• Payment: fee, timing, GST treatment if relevant, invoicing and what happens if deliverables are missed.

If the influencer is an independent contractor, make sure the written agreement and working arrangement match that. From 2026, the Employment Relations Act 2000 includes a contractor gateway test that can affect whether a worker can challenge their contractor status. If you want the influencer relationship to stay contractor-based, avoid controlling them like an employee and get advice on the agreement structure.

Who Is Responsible For Prize Fulfilment And Winner Issues?

Your business should decide this upfront, because entrants will usually see the brand as responsible even if the influencer is the public face of the campaign.

Prize fulfilment includes more than posting the prize. It can include checking eligibility, contacting the winner, collecting a delivery address, arranging shipping, replacing a damaged item and dealing with questions.

Here is a simple worked example.

Mia's online activewear store runs a seven-day Instagram giveaway with an influencer. The prize is a $300 voucher and a $150 sports bag. The terms say entries close at 8 pm NZT on Sunday, one winner will be selected by random draw on Monday, and the winner has 72 hours to respond.

The influencer posts the launch Reel and reminder story. Mia's business keeps the entrant list, runs the random draw, messages the winner from the brand account, and sends the prize within five business days after the winner confirms their details.

That split works because it's clear. If the winner doesn't reply within 72 hours, Mia can redraw under the terms. If the sports bag is out of stock, the terms let Mia provide an equal or higher value substitute, as long as she doesn't mislead entrants about the prize.

Your agreement with the influencer should say who is responsible for:

• moderating comments and answering entrant questions;
• saving screenshots of posts, stories and comments;
• recording the draw or judging process;
• checking whether the winner met the entry rules;
• collecting and protecting the winner's personal information;
• shipping or delivering the prize; and
• handling complaints or requests for a redraw.

Good records matter. If someone claims the draw was unfair, you'll be in a much stronger position if you can show the terms, entry list, draw method and communications.

How Do Platform Disclosure Rules Fit With The Legal Terms?

You need to comply with platform rules as well as New Zealand law, because the platform can remove content, restrict accounts or require changes even if your legal terms are otherwise sound.

Most social platforms have promotion rules and platform terms. They commonly require you to make clear that the platform isn't sponsoring, endorsing or administering the giveaway. Some also restrict tagging behaviour, such as asking people to tag themselves in photos they aren't in.

Disclosure is a separate issue. If the influencer is paid, gifted products, given affiliate benefits, offered a free trip or otherwise rewarded, the commercial relationship should be obvious to the audience. Hiding that relationship can create problems under the Fair Trading Act 1986 and Advertising Standards Authority expectations.

In practice, don't rely on vague hashtags at the end of a long caption. Use clear wording near the start, such as:

• Ad: where the influencer is paid to promote the giveaway.
• Paid partnership: where the platform's branded content tool is available and accurate.
• Gifted: where the influencer received free products and is posting because of that arrangement.
• Sponsored giveaway: where your business is providing the prize or paying for the campaign.

Your influencer agreement should require the influencer to use the disclosure wording you approve and to keep it visible in captions, stories and videos. If the influencer edits the caption later, your agreement should require them to keep the disclosure and key terms intact.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

The most common mistakes are usually practical ones: unclear entry rules, mismatched captions and terms, missing disclosures, and no plan for winner problems.

Before launch, check these points carefully:

• The caption matches the full terms: if the caption says entries close at midnight but the terms say 8 pm, you have created confusion.
• The prize is described accurately: avoid saying a prize is worth more than it is, or showing items that aren't included.
• The entry method is lawful and workable: make sure you can actually verify follows, comments, tags or purchases.
• You don't add entrants to marketing lists without consent: a giveaway entry isn't automatically permission to send marketing emails.
• The influencer can't change key terms casually: a story saying extra entries are available may contradict your written rules.
• You have a redraw process: set a response deadline and process for ineligible or unresponsive winners.
• You have approval rights: don't let the first time you see the post be after it's already live.

A final check the day before launch can save a lot of mess. Compare the influencer campaign agreement, brief, draft caption, creative, giveaway terms and platform requirements side by side. If they don't line up, fix them before the campaign starts.

Key Takeaways

• Influencer giveaway terms in NZ should work together with your influencer agreement, not sit in separate silos.
• The Fair Trading Act, Gambling Act, Privacy Act, Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act, Consumer Guarantees Act and advertising standards can all affect your campaign.
• Your terms should clearly cover eligibility, entry steps, prize details, winner selection, privacy and unclaimed prizes.
• Your influencer agreement should cover approvals, disclosure wording, content rights, reporting, payment and compliance with platform rules.
• Decide who handles prize fulfilment, winner checks, records and complaints before the post goes live.
• Clear disclosures like ad, paid partnership or gifted help protect trust and reduce legal risk.

If you'd like help with your giveaway terms, influencer agreements, content approval process or privacy wording for a campaign, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.