On 21 February 2022 a new COVID-19 Support Payment (CSP) was announced to support struggling businesses during the current Omicron outbreak. On 25 February 2022 this was updated to benefit even more struggling businesses. This CSP is expected to be in place from 14 March 2022.
The payment is in place to support businesses who have experienced a 40% drop in revenue as a result of the Omicron outbreak and will be in the form of fortnightly payments.
To be eligible, the business must have experienced this 40% decline AND must also:
- Have been operating for at least 1 month before 16 February 2022;
- Have taken all reasonable steps to minimise loss in revenue;
- Be operating in compliance with vaccine mandate requirements;
- Have not received a grant under the Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund: Grant for Self-Employed Individuals administrated by Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage; and
- Be a New Zealand business.
As from 25 February, there will now be two time periods against which businesses will be able to compare their current revenue to be eligible. The original period being 5 January 2022 – 15 February 2022 and the alternative being 5 January 2021 – 15 February 2021 to include a period of time when the entirety of New Zealand was at Alert Level 1.
If a business can show a 40% or greater drop in a seven-day period since 16 February this year compared to a typical 7-day period in one of those above timeframes, they will be eligible for relief.
These eligible businesses are able to receive $4,000 per business as well as $400 per full-time employee up to a maximum of 50 full-time employees. This will be available fortnightly for six weeks with each fortnightly payment needing to be applied for separately.
If you are a business that is struggling financially during the current Omicron outbreak, feel free to get in touch with someone from our team and we can assist you in obtaining any support that might be available to support your business.
