What financial support is available for my business?
You may be eligible for financial support if your business has been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle or the Auckland flooding.
If you own a business in the Tararua District and have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle you can apply for support to help you recover.
Funding criteria:
- be primarily located where a regional State of Emergency was declared.
- face significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, inability to operate as usual due to physical damage to equipment or premises, or delays in insurance assessment and repairs.
- be an otherwise viable business both before and after the flooding.
- not have received any funding from the MPI recovery fund.
- commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to its employees.
- Sole traders and self-employed people can apply
Find the application form and full criteria here:
To be eligible for this funding
- Your business must be located within the Waikato Region.
- You’re facing significant and sustained cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues, inability to operate as usual due to the physical damage to equipment or premises, or delays in insurance assessment and repairs.
- Your business is otherwise viable both before and after the storm events.
- You are not receiving any funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries recovery fund.
- You commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to your employees.
Fund applications close Friday 31 March 2023.
Find the application form and full criteria here:
If you own a business in Taitokerau Northland and your cashflow has been affected as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, you can apply for support to help you recover.
Grants of between $5,000 – $40,000 will be available to businesses in the Taitokerau Northland region who have been impacted by the recent weather events.
The grants are to help you with any immediate cash flow related needs and position you for a successful recovery.
You can apply if you are self-employed, a sole trader, or an employer (up to 50 Full Time Equivalents).
You must also meet these criteria:
- You’re facing significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues, inability to operate as usual due to the physical damage to equipment or premises, or delays in insurance assessment and repairs.
- Your business is otherwise viable both before and after the flooding.
- You are not receiving any funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries recovery fund.
- You commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to your employees.
Find the application form and full criteria here:
Apply for Cyclone Gabrielle business recovery grants in Taitokerau Northland (northlandnz.com)
Tairāwhiti businesses can now apply for a business support grant of up to $40,000 to support their recovery after Cyclone Gabrielle.
To apply for support, businesses must meet the following criteria:
- business must be located in the Tairāwhiti region,
- face significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues, in ability to operate as usual due to physical damage to equipment or premises, or delays in insurance assessment and repairs
- be an otherwise viable business both before and after the flooding
- not have received or be eligible to receive any funding from the MPI recovery fund at the time the business is being considered for a grant under the Business Recovery Grants Programme
- commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to its employees.
To apply, you will need to provide key details about your business, including a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN), bank account details, GST or IRD number, staff numbers, along with expected losses and how you intend to spend the grant.
Find the application form and full criteria here:
Application for business support grant | Trust Tairāwhiti (trusttairawhiti.nz)
Funding Eligibility
Funding will be allocated to help businesses in cyclone-affected regions.
Projects that meet the following criteria will be considered. Projects should;
- Be a legal entity with a separate business bank account
- Be primarily located where a regional State of Emergency was declared;
- Face significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues, inability to operate as usual due to physical damage to equipment or premises, or delays in insurance assessment and repairs;
- Be an otherwise viable business both before and after the flooding;
- Not have recieved any funding from the MPI recovery fund; and
- commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to its employees.
Find the application form and full criteria here:
If you own a business in Hawke’s Bay and have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, you can apply for support to help you recover.
Any business who faces significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues or inability to operate as usual due to physical damage to equipment or premises can apply for up to $40,000.
You must meet the following criteria to be eligible:
- business must be primarily located in Hawke’s Bay
- face significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues, inability to operate as usual due to physical damage to equipment or premises, or delay in insurance assessment and repairs
- be an otherwise viable business both before and after the flooding
- not have received any funding from the MPI recovery fund
- commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to employees
- have fewer than 50 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees.
Find the application form and full criteria here:
Cyclone and flood recovery :: Hawke’s Bay Chamber (hbchamber.nz)
Update 10 March 2023 – Applications for the Auckland Business Support Grant has been temporarily suspended due to the large number of applications received. Any applications received after 9 March 2023 at 4pm will be added to a waitlist, and contacted if there are any remaining funds.
The Auckland Business Chamber has been selected as the local partner responsible for distributing $4.5 million in grants to support businesses in Auckland. While the grants are not intended to replace insurance or compensation for all commercial losses, they are designed to help businesses clean up and get back on their feet sooner and stronger.
You must meet the eligibility criteria:
- Your business is primarily in the Auckland Region where there was a local State of Emergency declared.
- You were affected by Cyclone Gabrielle or the January flooding.
- You’re facing significant cashflow issues due to continued challenges with customer access, ability to source stock, supply chain issues, inability to operate as usual due to the physical damage to equipment or premises, or delays in insurance assessment and repairs.
- Your business is otherwise viable both before and after Cyclone Gabrielle or the January flooding.
- You are not receiving any funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries recovery fund.
- You commit to acting in line with employment law and with due regard to your employees.
To make an application for the Back to Work grants, or to find out further information, visit aucklandchamber.co.nz/backtowork/.
Civil Defence payments are available if you’ve been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.
These payments can help with food, clothing and bedding if yours has been damaged or destroyed, medical costs, power bills, emergency accommodation costs, repairs or replacing appliances, or for a loss of income due to an inability to work caused by the flooding.
Call Work and Income on 0800 400 100, or find out more information here
Westpac NZ has extended its original $1 million fund to help its small business customers impacted by the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle in the North Island, to $3 million.
Small business customers who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for a $2,500 cash grant to help with urgent expenses or repair. You can find the eligibility criteria and the application form here Westpac Small Business Flood Relief Grant – Westpac NZ. Applications close when all funds are allocated, or 24 March 2023.
Farmers, growers, and whenua Māori owners significantly affected by Cyclone Gabrielle are able to get support to kick-start recovery efforts.
The Government is providing $25 million for farmers and growers to undertake urgent work, including fencing, and clearing silt to save trees and vines.
The grants are to help farmers and growers get back on their feet as quickly as possible.
They include:
- up to $10,000 for pastoral and arable farmers to help with initial recovery, such as repairs to water infrastructure for livestock, and fencing
- up to $2,000 per hectare (up to a maximum of $40,000) to remove silt from trees and vines, support clean-up, and minimise future losses.
Applications for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery grants and funding
If you pay tax and have been affected by the extreme weather, Inland Revenue may be able to help. They may be able to remove late payment and filing penalties, and write off tax, penalties and interest if collecting it would put you in serious hardship.
If you’ve lost some or all your tax records in the flooding, Inland Revenue can work around this also.
IR has set up a dedicated line to take your calls 0800 473 566, and are also monitoring messages sent through their myIR system. When you’re sending a message through that secure e-mail, you can use the word ‘flood’ to help prioritise those messages
Banks are offering help for affected businesses. You may be able to get:
- a temporary business overdraft
- deferred payment for business credit cards
- relief options for business loans.
Talk to your bank to find out what assistance they can offer.
Natural disaster advice: Our hub of information can support you to ensure you are best prepared and then to support your store and team in the recovery – both physically and mentally. You can access the hub here.
Do you need help accessing these benefits? Or have you got questions around the financial support available? You can ring us on 0800 472 472 (1800 128 086 from Australia) or send an email to advice@retail.kiwi. We are here to support you – so ask us first.
