The current COVID outbreak and lockdown from 17th August 2021 have triggered government support payments for eligible businesses.
Below we detail the support available and how you can access these.
Wage Subsidy Scheme
(Applications open 9am 20 August 2021)
This payment will be available nationally to help eligible businesses continue paying staff. To reflect increased wage costs, the payments have been increased to $600 for full-time employees and to $359 for part-time employees. Applications are initially open for two weeks.
Eligibility
The same rules as previous wage subsidy payments apply.
- You must retain employees you are applying wage subsidy payments for
- Your business is being or will be affected by the move to Alert Level 4
- Your business has had, or you are predicting will have, a decline in revenue that is attributable to the effect the move to Alert Level 4 of at least 40%
- Have obtained consent from employees for the application and the sharing of their personal details
- Have taken active steps to mitigate the financial impacts of COVID-19
- Meet the other criteria listed in the declaration
Resurgence Support Payment
(Applications open at 8am on 24 August 2021)
Each time the COVID-19 alert level is increased from level 1, the resurgence support payments maybe activated at the government’s discretion. Once it is activated it is available nationally.
Eligible businesses can receive the lesser of:
- $1,500 plus $400 per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee, up to a maximum of 50 FTEs
- four times the actual revenue decline experienced by the applicant.
Eligibility
- This payment will be available to any business or organization in New Zealand that experiences at least a 30% drop in revenue or a 30% decline in capital-raising ability over a 7-day period, due to a COVID-19 alert level increase of level 2 or higher.
- You must have been in business for at least 6 months
- The business must be viable and ongoing
Click here for more detailed eligibility requirements
Other Support Available
The Leave Support Scheme
- This payment is for workers who must self-isolate and cannot work from home.
- It provides a two-week lump sum payment of $585.80 per week for full-time workers or $350 per week for part-time workers
- The rates increase to $600 per week for full-time workers or $359 per week for part-time workers from Tuesday 24 August 2021
The Short-Term Absence Payment
- This is a one-off payment (once per 30 days) of $350 for workers who must miss work due to a COVID-19 test and cannot work from home.
- The rate increases to $359 from Tuesday 24 August 2021
The Small Business Cashflow Scheme
- This is cashflow loan introduced to support small to medium businesses and organizations struggling with a loss of actual revenue due to COVID-19. Applications are now open until 31st December 2023
- The loan amount is $10,000 per firm, plus $1,800 per FTE.
