Over 60,000 wage subsidy applications yet to be processed

September 26, 2021

The majority of those have been waiting more than a month.

More than 60,000 wage subsidy applications are yet to be processed, with the majority of the businesses waiting for over a month.

The Government said most applications have been completed within three working days but there is a group, mainly sole traders, where there are a range of issues delaying the payments.

Personal trainers, dog walkers and hairdressers are examples of sole traders feeling the pinch during the lockdown, with many having problems accessing the wage subsidy.

North Island motelier Donald Hodgson said both he and his partner are self-employed.

“We have basically had no money coming in over the lockdown,” he said.

He received his money within 48 hours but his partner is still waiting five weeks on.

“The latest response that I got from them was that I was not the only one in this situation and all I had to do was wait,” he said.

Rachel Taylor from the Self-Employed and Small Business Association said she's heard from “a lot of people saying, 'I applied', 'I didn’t understand what was going on', 'I didn't understand the process completely'”.

Nearly 700,000 wage subsidy applications have been received since last month - several thousand more than compared to last year's March lockdown.

Of those, over 35,000 have yet to be processed from the first round, more than 20,000 from the second round and more than 5000 from the most recent round, which closes on Thursday.

“The Government has to appreciate that there are businesses struggling to survive out there,” National’s employment spokesperson Louise Upston said.

The Ministry of Social Development said more than 85 per cent of applications are completed within three working days.

1News has spoken to many business owners who have experienced delays, some of whom were forced to borrow off friends or parents while they waited for the subsidy to come in.

“One of the issues is different details being held by Inland Revenue than what is on the application for the wage subsidy. We do ask people to look carefully at this,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said.

There's criticism that people are waiting without knowing what the problem is.

Lambton Quay, Wellington.

“I've heard examples of people ringing 20 or 30 times to get an answer,” Upston said.

"When you're working on your business, you don't have the time to spend hours waiting on the phone for a little bit of advice when, if it was provided freely from the beginning, the process would be a lot more streamlined," Taylor added. 

For a demoralised Hodgson, the waiting continues.

“When it is withheld from you through no fault of your own, it's very frustrating and very demoralising,” he said.

SHARE ME

More Stories