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.
Applications for the first two rounds have now closed.
Applications for the third round, Wage Subsidy August 2021 #3, opened on Friday 17 September and will remain open until 11.59pm on Thursday 30 September.
The revenue test period for Wage Subsidy #3 is 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 #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.
Information on the Wage Subsidy Scheme – Work and Income
SOURCE: BUSINESS.GOVT.NZ
