COVID-19 FAQs
There are so many questions to be answered regarding what Kiwiburn will do to manage COVID-19, what would cause an event cancellation, and what happens if we do cancel. We’ve put together this webpage to answer all of your questions, and for full details, please check out the full policy.
How will Kiwiburn deal with the uncertainty presented by COVID-19?
In general, Kiwiburn will always adhere to official government rules, mandates or laws and we continue to work closely with the Ministry of Health and local DHB’s. With most COVID-19 regulations and guidelines having been removed, isolation and mitigation is the main tool to manage the spread of the virus. We will follow any and all required government health advice and regulations that will mitigate and ultimately eradicate any spread/transmission of the virus, with the aim of keeping Kiwiburn participants and locals safe.
When will a call be made on whether the event is cancelled?
Please be prepared that we might need to cancel the event at any stage, including during the event. We will endeavour to give as much notice as possible of any cancellations.
What is Kiwiburn’s refund policy if the event is cancelled due to COVID restrictions or impact?
Should the Event be cancelled as a result of COVID restrictions or their impace on the Event at any time up to the opening of the Gate on Wednesday 24 January 2023, the Organiser will offer a pro-rata refund based on expenditure at time of any cancellation. A non-refundable amount of $15 goes towards the annual subscription fee to the Kiwiburn Society which also covers basic year-round expenses and allows Kiwiburn to continue to function as an entity (even without an event). Any ticketing agency fees or charges associated with the original Ticket purchase are non-refundable.
If the cancellation occurs after Gates open, then Kiwiburn’s standard no refund policy will apply.
The recorded Ticket Purchaser (person whose credit card details were used to pay for the ticket) may be different to the name of the person whose Burner Profile is finally linked to the actual Ticket (the Ticket Holder). The assignment of a Burner Profile to a ticket – whether that occurred either at the time of purchase or later via a Ticket Transfer – will not change who the recorded Ticket Purchaser is. The only time the recorded Ticket Purchaser details are updated is when a ticket is resold via STEP because in this case a whole new purchase transaction is processed and new credit card details are recorded against the replacement ticket(s).
What is Kiwiburn’s normal refund policy?
Refer to our standard Terms and Conditions for full details. In summary Kiwiburn has a default policy that there is no refund available should the Event be cancelled before or during the Event. See separate FAQs for the situation where the cancellation is COVID related.
Who gets the refund?
Kiwiburn can only refund to the Ticket Purchaser’s credit card account that was associated with the last payment transaction recorded through Quicket. This means that if :
You purchased a Ticket(s) using your own credit card details:
You WILL be entitled to claim a refund for any and all tickets your credit card paid for – regardless of whose Burner Profile was eventually linked to each ticket – as you are the Ticket Purchaser. Direct purchasing requires you to process a payment transaction using your credit card details, therefore, Quicket and Kiwiburn are aware of the Ticket Purchaser linked to the issued Tickets.
You purchased a Ticket(s) via STEP
You WILL be entitled to claim a refund for any and all tickets your credit card paid for – regardless of whose Burner Profile was eventually linked to each ticket – as you are the Ticket Purchaser. Tickets resold through STEP require you to process a payment transaction using your credit card details, therefore, Quicket and Kiwiburn are aware there is a new Ticket Purchaser linked to the reissued Tickets.
Your Burner Profile was linked to a Ticket but you paid someone privately for your ticket
You will NOT receive the refund, the original recorded Ticket Purchaser will. Because any private payment transactions will not have not been processed through Quicket’s system, there is no record of your credit card or bank details – only those of the original Ticket Purchaser – so you are simply the Ticket Holder. Therefore, as far as Quicket and Kiwiburn are concerned the original Ticket Purchaser remains the person legally entitled to a refund if one is requested.
If you had someone transfer a ticket to you using the Quicket Transfer option
You will NOT receive the refund, the original recorded Ticket Purchaser will. Note even though a new ticket was issued to you, because you did not process a payment through Quicket, you are a Ticket Holder not a Ticket Purchaser and you will NOT receive the refund as the system has no record of your credit card or bank details – only those of the original Ticket Purchaser. Therefore, as far as Quicket and Kiwiburn are concerned the original Ticket Purchaser remains the person legally entitled to a refund if one is requested,
What if the event goes ahead, but I can't attend because of COVID-19?
Our COVID-19 Refund Policy only applies if the entire event is cancelled prior to gate opening on Wednesday 24 January 2024. In all other circumstances, our standard no-refund policy applies.
That means that if you’re unable to attend Kiwiburn, whether it’s because your international flight is cancelled due to COVID-19 or perhaps because you’ve been isolated as a close contact of a known case, unfortunately we won’t be able to refund your ticket. You’ll need to sell your own ticket through STEP or privately to recoup your money.
How will Kiwiburn weather the financial storm? Can I gift the price of my ticket to Kiwiburn?
If we have to cancel the 2024 event as a result of COVID-19, Kiwiburn will be taking a financial hit, and we would appreciate your support to help see us through in a healthy position.
You may choose to gift your entire refund to Kiwiburn by declining the refund, or make a donation of a chosen amount via a separate method (e.g. Givealittle, in particular if a cancellation occurs close to the event and a lot of costs have been incurred already).
We will release a statement about ongoing costs incurred to date, depending on the timing of any cancellation.
If you can afford to offer a pro-rated refund to everybody, then why are you giving us the option to gift?
By using our annual membership income to cover normal year round running costs and utilising some of our contingency fund, reducing costs and rebudgeting other expenses, Kiwiburn can continue to operrate if we only recouperate costs arelady incurred at time of cancellation.
This decision will not bankrupt the event. Should everyone request the refund they are entitled to, it will have an economic effect on future events, as well as any expansion of Kiwiburn activities. We are also responding to requests from the community of Burners who wish to make a gift towards the longevity of future events, and in particular support the Arts and Artists.
Why can't you roll my ticket over to the next Kiwiburn?
Each Kiwiburn is an entirely separate event. This would involve a lot of administration to roll tickets over and refund those who can’t attend, and we can’t predict what might happen next year.
Our Society Membership Fees also need to be collected annually, so this would have to be managed separately in the event of a roll-over.
Because of this, it was decided that the simpler approach would be to treat each event separately, and to offer pro-rata refunds.
Why isn't cancellation covered by Kiwiburn's event insurance?
We have liability insurance for the event and the ExCom members, but this doesn’t cover a global pandemic such as COVID-19.
We have also checked with our insurance broker, and unfortunately there is no policy that would cover this situation: pandemic and government action on the scale we are seeing are specifically excluded from insurance policies.
Who can I contact if my question isn’t answered here?
What can I expect at Gate?
New Zealand’s COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic light system) has now ended and most regulations and guidelines were removed. However, attendees and Theme Camps are expected to be radically self-reliant with their approach to planning around COVID-19. This means we encourage testing before the event, bringing RATs and having a travel plan for leaving the site and isolating if you test positive.
What should I do if I have cold/flu symptoms?
We ask that every person who exhibits cold or flu symptoms presents at Gate with a recent (within 48hrs) negative COVID test to ensure we keep everyone safe. We will have some RATs available, however attendees and Theme Camps are expected to be radically self-reliant with their approach to planning around COVID-19. This means we encourage testing, bringing your own RATs and having a travel plan for leaving the site and isolating if you test positive.
