The government has announced that a new one-off transition payment will be available for businesses from 10 December this year.

Businesses need to have suffered a 30% drop in revenue between October 3 and November 9 compared to a typical week in the six weeks prior to August 17 to be eligible.

The transition payment is designed to assist businesses in moving to the new traffic light system. Only businesses in areas where they are designated red are able to apply.

The payment is intended for businesses in Auckland, Waikato and Northland to acknowledge the restrictions they faced under higher alert levels.

The payment will be at a higher base rate than the current Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) at $4000 per business, plus $400 per full-time equivalent (FTE) worker up to a cap of 50 FTEs. The maximum payment is $24,000.

Businesses that qualify will be able to apply for the new support through Inland Revenue. This payment is on top of any payments under the Resurgence Support Payment scheme.