There are various COVID-19 financial support schemes available to businesses, depending on your situation. Learn more about each type of support and where you can find more information.

On this page:

• COVID-19 Support Payment
• Short-Term Absence Payment
• Leave Support Scheme
• Small business cash flow loan scheme
• Events Transition Support Payment scheme
• Having an NZBN could make applying for financial support easier
• Financial support tool

Applications for the COVID-19 Support Payment (CSP) have closed.

See information about the CSP on the Inland Revenue website:

COVID-19 Support Payment(external link) – Inland Revenue

The Short-Term Absence Payment is available to employers to pay workers who follow public health guidance and stay home while waiting for a COVID-19 test result.  It’s also available to eligible self-employed workers. To be eligible, workers need to be unable to work from home and need to miss work while waiting for their test results.

How much

There’s a one-off payment of $359 for each eligible worker. Employers or the self-employed can apply for any worker once in any 30-day period, unless a health official or doctor tells the worker to get another test.

How to apply

You can apply on the Work and Income website.

More information and how to apply(external link) — Work and Income

The COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme is available to employers to help pay employees who have been advised to self-isolate because of COVID-19 and can’t work from home. It’s also available to eligible self-employed workers.

How much

• $600 per week for full-time workers and $359 per week for part-time workers.

How to apply

You can apply on the Work and Income website.

How to apply for the Leave Support Scheme(external link) — Work and Income

Leave Support Scheme(external link) — Work and Income

Under the Small Business Cash Flow Loan Scheme the Government provides 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

myIR(external link) — Inland Revenue

If your businesses doesn’t have a myIR account, you will need to create one to apply.

Register a myIR account for a business or organisation(external link) — Inland Revenue

Most applicants will receive their loan payment in full from Inland Revenue within five working days. You don’t have to accept the full loan amount you’re offered, and can decide to take a smaller loan.

The Events Transition Support Payment scheme is a government-backed scheme that covers non-recoverable costs incurred by event organisers for COVID-19-related cancellation of major events. See more information, including eligibility criteria and how to apply.

Events Transition Support Payment scheme(external link)  – Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Applications for the Transition Payment have closed.

See information about the Transition Payment on the Inland Revenue website.

Applications for the Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) have closed.

See information about the Resurgence Support Payment on the Inland Revenue website.

COVID-19 Resurgence Support Payment (RSP)(external link) — Inland Revenue

Applications for the Wage Subsidy Scheme have closed.

Applications for Business debt hibernation have closed. Businesses with existing business debt hibernation arrangements may continue with the process.

COVID-19: Business debt hibernation

If you want help figuring out what financial help you might be able to apply for, try the financial support tool on the Unite against Covid website.

The tool will take you through a series of questions about to find out more about your personal situation including:

• your work status
• your situation
• whether your workplace has reduced business.

COVID-19 Financial support tool(external link) — covid19.govt.nz