Covid relief payment Q&A

Brian from New Lynn

Q. What is the new payment?
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A. It's a temporary payment of $490 a week for someone who loses a fulltime job of 30 hours a week or more due to Covid-19, or $250 for someone who was in a part-time job working 15 to 29 hours a week.
It will be available for 12 weeks to anyone who loses a job between March 1 and October 30, with the first payments available from June 8.
Q. Who can get it?
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A. NZ citizens or permanent residents who don't get more than $30,000 in redundancy pay, didn't have income protection insurance and don't have a partner earning at least $2000 a week.
Q. What are the obligations?
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A. Recipients must:
• Be available for, and actively seeking, suitable work;
• Take appropriate steps towards gaining new employment;
• Engage with suitable work programmes and courses and identify and take opportunities for employment, redeployment and training.
Q. What will it cost?
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A. $1.2 billion gross, or $570 million net after deducting what people would have received on normal benefits.
Q. How do you apply?
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A. Apply online on the Work and Income website from June 8.
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