A business or organisation must have been in business for at least 1 month before 16 February 2022 and experienced at least a 40% drop in revenue over a consecutive 7-day period (7 days in a row) in an affected revenue period, due to one or more COVID-19 circumstances.
Any business in New Zealand that has had this drop in revenue may be eligible if they met the other criteria.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for the CSP, your business or organisation (including sole traders) must have met all the following.
- Have been in business for at least 1 month before 16 February 2022.
- Be physically present in New Zealand.
- Be viable and ongoing.
- Have a New Zealand Business Number.
- Have had at least a 40% drop in revenue or capital raising as a result of one or more COVID-19 circumstances.
- If the applicant is part of a commonly owned group, this 40% drop also needs to be satisfied across the group as a whole.
- Have taken all reasonably practical steps to minimise the decline in revenue.
- If it is a regulated business or service, have been operating in compliance with the COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate (CVC) requirements for regulated business or services (whether following the CVC or non-CVC rules) for both the affected revenue period and any comparator period (or part of that period) (in so far as those CVC requirements applied to all or part of those periods).
- Applicants must be 18 years or older and agree to the terms and conditions set out in the application.
- If the applicant breaks the terms of the agreement, they will have to repay the CSP - with interest.
Ministry of Culture and Heritage – Grant for Self-Employed Individuals
Self-employed individuals who received, had an application pending for, or is going to apply for or receive in future, funding under the Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund – Grant for Self-Employed Individuals, administered by Manatū Taonga - Ministry of Culture and Heritage, were not eligible for the first CSP. However, they may have been eligible for the 2nd and 3rd CSPs.
Government COVID-19 support
If a business received other Government COVID-19 support, such as the Small Business Cashflow Scheme, Leave Support Scheme, Short Term Absence Payment or the Events Transition Support Payment, they may also have been entitled to the CSP.
Charities, not-for-profit and state sector
Charities and not-for-profit organisations may have been entitled to the CSP.
State sector organisations are excluded from the CSP, but could not apply to the Minister of Finance for an exemption to apply for the scheme.
Commonly owned groups
If the business or organisation is part of a commonly owned group, each member of the group may have been eligible for CSP. The business or organisation and the commonly owned group must have both:
- experienced at least a 40% drop in revenue
- used the same 7-day affected period and the same 7-day comparison period when calculating the drop in revenue.
Businesses not trading yet
If a business or organisation had taken active steps towards being market ready but had not yet begun trading, you can find out more on our pre-revenue businesses and organisations page.
Pre-revenue businesses and organisations
Recently acquired businesses
Businesses that changed ownership after 16 January 2022 may have been to apply for a CSP. To get a CSP, the business:
- needs to have met the CSP criteria
- must have been operating for at least 1 month before 16 February 2022
- activity must have been largely the same as before the change in ownership.
Mountain Peak Adventure carries on a hotel business in Queenstown. The majority of its customers are overseas travellers from Australia. Due to border restrictions a number of its Australian based customers continue to cancel their previously booked hotel accommodation because they are not able to travel to New Zealand - Mountain Peak Adventure experiences a 60% drop in revenue as a result of these cancellations.
Mountain Peak Adventure’s 60% drop in revenue caused by the halt to the trans-Tasman Covid-19 bubble and is not due to one or more of the COVID-19 circumstances. Therefore, they are not eligible for the CSP even though they have experienced a drop in revenue.
Hungry Dragon Limited operates a popular Chinese restaurant in Nelson. The restaurant on a usual day can only host around 10 people. Due to NZ moving to the Red setting under the CFC the restaurant can now only host 5 people or less. Additionally, due to the lack of space, it is challenging to have the required physical distancing between customers. As a result of this, Hungry Dragon Limited does not find it economical to host customers within the restaurant.
The directors of Hungry Dragon Limited decide to only offer a takeaway option for their customers so that they are still able to operate. They display their CVC status (indicating that they are non-CVC rule compliant) and have systems or processes to prevent customers from entering their premises except to enable contactless collection of goods. However, even after complying with the non-CVC rules, Hungry Dragon Limited suffers a drop in revenue of 45% due to only being able to offer a takeaway service.
Hungry Dragon Limited may be eligible to receive the CSP as they are complying with the non-CVC rules, they have taken all practicable steps to minimise the drop in revenue and their drop in revenue is more than 40% as a result of one or more of the COVID-19 circumstances.
Good Boy Limited operates a bakery and café in Ponsonby, Auckland. Since New Zealand moved to the Red settings under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, Good Boy Limited has set up their operations so that they comply with the CVC rules. This involves their shop displaying their CVC status, setting up systems and processes to verify their customers’ CVC status, adhering to the fixed capacity limits and relevant seating requirements. Even after complying with the CVC requirements, Good Boy Limited has suffered from a drop in revenue of 50% due to the lack of customers as people choose to work from home as a result of the Omicron outbreak.
Good Boy Limited may be eligible to receive the CSP as they are complying with the CVC requirements and their drop in revenue is more than 40% and is a result of one or more of the COVID-19 circumstances.
Ms Goldie Locks operates a small café in the Wellington CBD. Ms Locks does not believe in vaccines and is not happy with the CVC requirements. Under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, hospitality venues can open in the Red setting as long as they follow the CVC requirements, which involves complying with the CVC rules or non-CVC rules. The CVC rules require businesses to have systems and processes to check that each person (including a worker) who is at the premises is carrying a CVC (other than a person who it is reasonable to believe is under the age of 12 years and 3 months). If a hospitality business chooses not to follow the CVC rules, and instead follows the non-CVC rules, it can open for takeaway only.
Ms Locks does not want to open her café for takeaways only and does not feel the need to follow any of the CVC rules or non-CVC rules detailed in the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Order 2021. She continues to trade by allowing customers into her café without regard to whether they carry a CVC. Ms Locks has chosen not to comply with the CVC requirements. Therefore, Ms Locks is not eligible for the CSP, even if the 40% drop in revenue was met.
Jonty Glass is a self-employed upcoming artist and had an exhibition planned for 25 February 2022. Due to the increasing COVID-19 infections in the New Zealand community and the restrictions placed on the number of people that can gather in one place, Mr Clark’s exhibition is postponed which means he is unable to sell any of his art works. He applies for and receives the Ministry of Culture and Heritage emergency grant of $5,000 for self-employed individuals. On this basis he is ineligible for the first CSP payment.
Clockwork Glass Ltd operates a restaurant in Auckland which is usually open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner service. The restaurant backs on to 2 large office buildings and most of its customers are staff from these offices.
Following the move to phase 2 of the Omicron response, being 15 February 2022, the director of Clockwork Glass continues to operate as usual 7 days a week. Due to the large number of COVID-19 cases in the New Zealand community, most of Clockwork Glass’s customers have decided to work from home. Clockwork Glass simply decides to close the business in response to the large number of COVID-19 cases and their loss of customers, as opposed to exploring options of how to run the business differently (such as different hours and methods of operation) to adjust to the changing circumstances. Clockwork Glass does not take all reasonably practical steps to minimise their revenue losses and therefore, they are not eligible for the CSP.
However, suppose that instead of shutting their doors, Clockwork Glass see they are still getting customers for the dinner service. In order to minimise losses, they decide to no longer open for the lunch services but still operate their dinner services. These would be reasonably practical steps to minimise their revenue loss.
Sparkle Electrical does wiring for businesses. Due to the rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in the New Zealand community, 6 of their 10 staff members were identified as close contacts and need to self-isolate.
The number of employees that Sparkle Electrical had working for them has now reduced by more than half. This has impacted their ability to service their clientele and has resulted in their revenue dropping by 50% compared to the week before New Zealand moved to Phase 2 of the Omicron response being 15 February 2022 (being a typical week).
Sparkle Electrical may be eligible for the CSP as their drop in revenue is more than 40% and is a result of one or more of the COVID-19 circumstances.