The COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme is designed to be accessible for all NZ employers with NZ employees including:
- Registered Charities
- Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
- Self-employed and Sole Traders
- Contractors
- Incorporated Societies
- Post-settlement Governance Entities
- Local Government Organisations
- Kindergartens and Early Childhood Centres.
State sector organisations are not eligible to receive the COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme unless they have asked for (and been granted) an exception to become eligible for the scheme via their monitoring agency. State sector organisations should contact their monitoring agency directly if they wish to discuss this.
Private businesses contracted to provide services to state sector employers (e.g. Cleaning, security) are not state sector employers, and can apply for the leave support scheme provided they meet the other criteria.
Your business must also be in New Zealand. This means that at the time of application, your business must be:
- Registered with the New Zealand Companies Office
- Physically located in New Zealand
- Employees are legally working in New Zealand
If you are not sure whether your employees are legally working in New Zealand, feel free to visit the Employment New Zealand website here.
Sole Traders are not required to be registered with the New Zealand Companies Office, but will instead be required to provide the following information in respect of their application:
- Personal IRD Number
- Government licenses and permits for their business needs (as applicable)
- Qualifications or registrations for their trade or profession (as applicable)