Repaying a previous COVID-19 payment

Businesses could apply for a COVID-19 payment to help to pay their employees, including self-employed people. This includes the COVID-19 Wage Subsidies, the Leave Support Scheme and the Short-Term Absence Payment.

When you need to repay

You need to repay some or all of a COVID-19 payment if you or your employee were not eligible for it during the payment timeframe. This could be because something changed later on.

You may have to make a repayment if:

• you no longer meet the criteria for the payment
• you did not use the payment to keep or pay your staff
• you provided false or misleading information in your application
• your employee has resigned, been dismissed, or no longer meets the criteria for the payment (you can use the money to pay other affected employees, or repay it)
• your employee has been made redundant or their contract finished (you need to repay the remaining amount after you've paid them their wage)
• your business has closed
• you applied for the wrong payment rate (e.g. you applied for a full-time rate when you only need the part-time rate)
• you're self-employed and your regular business income is less than the COVID-19 payment (you need to repay the surplus)
• you're a state sector organisation who didn't have an exception approved, or
• your business got a payment it is not entitled to due to a Ministry of Social Development error.

How to make a repayment

You can make a repayment by filling out our online 'Repayment request' form:

You'll need to tell us your:

• business name
• IRD number
• New Zealand Business Number (NZBN), if you have one
• phone number
• email address
• postal address, and
• the amount you need to repay.

Once we process the form, we'll be in touch to confirm how to make the repayment.