Update - COVID Level 4 - 2nd round of Subsidies

Auckland: Alert Level 4.

Rest of New Zealand: Alert Level 2

New rounds of Financial Support

Additional financial support has been announced and from Friday 17 September, eligible businesses will be able to apply for new rounds of the:

• Resurgence Support Payment
• Wage Subsidy Scheme.

You can apply for either scheme whether you've received previous payments or not.

The Resurgence Support Payment

A second RSP has also been announced. Applications for this second payment will open from 8am on Friday 17 September. Businesses and organisations will be able to apply for the second payment, even if they have received the first payment.

Applications for both payments will remain open for one month after a nationwide return to Alert Level 1.

Businesses and organisations will be eligible if they experience a 30% drop in revenue over a seven day period after an alert level increase and meet other eligibility criteria. For the first payment the seven-day period must start on or after 17 August. For the second payment the seven-day period must start on or after 8 September. This drop is compared to a typical seven-day period in the six weeks before the increase in alert level. Seasonal businesses should show a 30% revenue drop compared with a similar week the previous year.

The decline in revenue must be a result of the specific alert level change, not just COVID-19 in general. You must have been in business for at least one month prior to the alert level change on 17 August 2021 to be eligible to apply.

This payment is not a loan, so does not need to be repaid. The payment must be used to help cover business expenses such as wages and fixed costs.

You can also calculate how much you may be entitled to and how to apply on Inland Revenue's website.

Eligibility for the Resurgence Support Payment(external link) – Inland Revenue

Apply for the Resurgence Support Payment(external link) – Inland Revenue

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Wage Subsidy Scheme

The Wage Subsidy is a payment to support eligible businesses, organisations and the self-employed affected by Alert Levels 3 and 4, so they can continue to pay employees and protect jobs.

You can apply for the Wage Subsidy regardless of where your business is located in New Zealand. However, your business must have been affected by the continuation of Alert Level 3 or 4.

The Wage Subsidy is paid in two-week periods. Since the alert level change on 17 August 2021, three rounds of the scheme have been announced:  Wage Subsidy August 2021, Wage Subsidy August 2021 #2 and Wage Subsidy August 2021 #3.

Wage Subsidy August 2021: Applications for the first round, Wage Subsidy August 2021, have now closed.

Wage Subsidy August 2021 #2: Applications for the second round, Wage Subsidy August 2021 #2, opened on Friday 3 September and will remain open until 11.59pm on Thursday 16 September.

On 10 September, the Government clarified that the revenue decline test for the Wage Subsidy August 2021 #2 includes the effect of Alert Level 2 on businesses as well as the continuation of Alert Levels 3 and 4 from 17 August 2021.

Wage Subsidy August 2021 #3: Applications for the third round, Wage Subsidy August 2021 #3, will open at 9am on Friday 17 September and will remain open until 11.59pm on Thursday 30 September.

The revenue test period for Wage Subsidy #3 will be 14-27 September 2021.

You can apply on the Work and Income website.

You can apply for more than one round of the wage subsidies, two weeks after your previous application, if you meet eligibility criteria. If you applied for a previous round and were eligible, Work and Income will email you to let you know when to apply for the next round. Don’t send in early applications, they won’t be accepted as each payment is for a two-week period. If you didn’t apply for the initial Wage Subsidy you can apply for Wage Subsidy #2 or Wage Subsidy #3, if you meet eligibility criteria.

To reflect higher wage costs since the scheme was first used in March 2020 the payments have been increased to:

• $600 per week per full-time employee
• $359 per week per part-time employee.

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Leave Support Scheme (LSS)

The Leave Support Scheme provides a two-week lump sum payment of either $585.80 per week for full-time workers, or $350 per week for part-time workers, who must self-isolate and cannot work from home. More information is available here.

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Short-Term Absence Payment (STAP)

The Short-Term Absence Payment provides a one-off (once per 30 days) $350 payment for workers who must miss work due to a COVID-19 test and cannot work from home. Further information about this payment is available on the MSD website.

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Small Business Cash Flow Loan Scheme (SBCS)

Government will provide loans to small businesses, including sole traders and the self-employed, impacted by COVID-19 to support their cash flow needs.

If you've previously applied for a SBCS and have fully repaid it, you can apply again.

Applications are open until 31 December 2023. You can apply through myIR.

The small business cash flow loan scheme will provide assistance of up to a maximum of $100,000 to businesses employing 50 or fewer full-time employees. This includes sole traders and self-employed businesses.

Details of the loans include:

• $10,000 to be provided to eligible businesses
• an additional $1800 per equivalent full-time employee
• interest free if the loan is paid back within two years
• an interest rate of 3% for a maximum term of five years
• repayments not required for the first two years
• you must show at least a 30% drop in revenue due to Covid-19, measured over a 14-day period in the past six months compared with the same 14-day period a year ago. If your revenue from the same period a year ago was also affected by COVID-19, compare the same 14-day period two years ago.
• maximum amount you can borrow depends on the number of full-time and part-time employees.

Use the small business cash flow loan scheme eligibility tool and find out how to apply.

COVID-19: Small business cash flow loan scheme eligibility tool

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Tax and ACC Support

If you’re having difficulties meeting your tax obligations due to COVID-19, Inland Revenue has various support schemes and options to help.

COVID-19 business and organisations(external link) — Inland Revenue

During the COVID-19 outbreak, you’ll find ACC updates that affect you here:

General COVID-19 information for businesses(external link) — ACC

Please note the information provided is subject to change as updated by Government. We will try and keep you informed with the updates as they arise.

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