Resurgence Support Payment eligibility criteria change

The Minister of Finance has announced a change to the eligibility criteria for the Resurgence Support Payment (RSP).

Businesses and organisations that have been in operation for at least 1 month prior to the Alert Level increase on 17 August 2021 will be eligible to apply for the payment. The original criteria was 6 months. Businesses will still be required to meet the other eligibility requirements under the scheme such as demonstrating a 30% decline in revenue.

This change applies to the current round of the RSP and any future ones. This means that businesses which have been in operation since 17 July 2021 may now be eligible for the RSP.
They will still need to meet all the other criteria for the RSP. It should be noted that this is not a new round of the RSP but it means that some businesses which were not previously eligible for this round may now be eligible.

The change in criteria will become active from 8 am on 9 September 2021 on Inland Revenue’s website. Newly eligible businesses must wait until that date before applying under this new criteria.
Inland Revenue will contact businesses whose applications under the current RSP activation were previously declined because they had been in business less than 6 months to let them know they may now be eligible and can submit a new application.

The RSP is a one-off payment that helps businesses with costs like rent or fixed costs during higher alert levels. It includes a core per business rate of $1,500, plus $400 per employee, up to a total of 50 full-time equivalents (FTEs) which is a maximum payment of $21,500. Businesses with more than 50 FTEs can apply but cannot get more than the maximum payment. The scheme will remain open for applications until all of New Zealand returns to Alert Level 1 for 1 month.

Source: Resurgence Support Payment eligibility criteria change