Cabinet has agreed New Zealand outside of Auckland and north west Waikato will remain at alert level 2 - with the only change being the 100 person limit in hospitality venues removed.
While capacity at venues changes, customer-facing staff legally must still wear a face covering while serving customers.
Auckland will remain at alert level 3 from midnight tomorrow, with an easing of restrictions of the next four to eight weeks.
North west Waikato will remain in level three for five days as restrictions begin to ease in Auckland.
The alert level settings will be reviewed on Monday 4 October.
See how the day's news unfolded with RNZ's blog: