Flexi-wage for self-employment

To apply for Flexi-wage self-employment there's basic criteria you and your intended business need to meet.

Additional criteria will also apply - we can talk to you about this when you contact us to find out more about Flexi-wage self-employment.

Criteria you need to meet

You need to be:

• out of work, and
• 18 years or older and not able to get NZ Super, and
• having difficulty getting or keeping a job (for example you might have barriers to finding a job because you need training, or your current job may be at risk).

You must also be ordinarily resident in New Zealand and either:

• a New Zealand citizen, or

• a resident with a residence class visa, or

• recognised as a refugee or protected person, or

• have a temporary visa that allows you to work in New Zealand and either:

• • have applied to be recognised as a refugee or protected person and are waiting on the outcome, or 
  • have applied for a residence class visa and are compelled to stay in New Zealand because of unforeseen circumstances.

Criteria your business needs to meet

You need:

• to be in the early stages of developing a business and unable to be self-sufficient
• an in-depth understanding of all aspects of your proposed business idea
• a business plan – find out how to write this here:

 How to write a business plan (Business.govt.nz)external

We must be satisfied your business idea is viable before we can consider any assistance.

Who can't get it

You can't get Flexi-wage for self-employment if you're:

• re-starting a business that you've owned before, or
• already running an established business that is struggling financially, or
• currently bankrupt or insolvent,
• starting a business outside of New Zealand.

How to apply

You can only get Flexi-Wage for self-employment if you meet the eligibility criteria and we are convinced your business idea is viable. To do this, we'll meet with you and get you to give us details of your business idea so we can assess it in detail.

Step 1: Appointment for initial eligibility

Call us on 0800 559 009 to book an appointment with a Case Manager.

At the appointment we will:

• discuss how your job search is going,
• check if you meet the initial eligibility criteria,
• talk about your business idea,
• assess your needs and what type of help we may be able to offer.

We may ask if you have a business plan, and if you're already operating any other businesses.

If you do not meet the initial eligibility criteria for Flexi-wage Self-employment, we will discuss alternative options to support your journey to employment.

Step 2: Complete the pre-assessment pack

If you have met the initial eligibility criteria, your application will be progressed and you will be required to complete a detailed pre-assessment pack to provide us with details of your business idea and research. This includes details about:

• your business plan
• any relevant skills and experience
• market research
• marketing and competition
• finance and operations
• compliance and risk planning.

We'll tell you how you can send this information to us. We may also ask for your findings and proof of research for these things.

Step 3: Appointment to discuss your business idea

Once you have completed the pre-assessment pack in and returned it to us, we'll book an appointment with you go through the information in your pre-assessment and discuss your business idea in full.

We will use the information that you have provided to decide whether your application can be progressed to the next stage.

We'll also talk about developing your business plan, and whether a Business Training and Advice Grant could help.

Step 4: Assessing your business plan

All applications that have provided a formal business plan and are progressed to the next stage are required to be independently assessed before we are able to consider approval.

If your application is approved

We'll:

• contact you regularly to see how things are going,
• send you 4-weekly claim forms for the Flexi-wage subsidy over the period of the contract.

We'll make sure you know how to make a claim every 4 weeks.

Mid-project financial report

You'll need to provide a mid-project financial report within the first 12-20 weeks. The report needs to outline things like:

• productivity levels (for example, the amount of work or items manufactured),
• actual cash flow,
• a comparison of performance against the original business plan,
• cash flow expectations for at least the next 6 months.

We'll let you know when we need this and who to send it to. The report will be reviewed by an independent person, and we'll let you know the outcome of this review.

Other help available

Business Training and Advice Grant

You may be able to get up to $5,000 to help you develop a business plan and/or train in business skills, advice and project reports.

Business Training and Advice Grant

Self-Employment start up payment

You may also be able to get help with essential start-up costs, for example furniture or the first lot of stock.

Self-Employment start up payment