IWK

Businesses urged to not assume, but ask about their essential services status

Written by IWK Bureau | Mar 24, 2020 12:39:40 AM

The government’s Covid-19 response task force is urging businesses to not assume, but ask about their status as Essential Services and eligibility to continue to operate. 

This was announced earlier this afternoon along with the routine announcement of the status of numbers of new cases of Covid-19 infections. 

Speaking on the occasion one of the senior officers referred to an announcement made earlier by the Warehouse group on social media about remaining open during the complete lockdown period when the country enters into Alert Level -4 on 11.59 pm, Wednesday, March 25.

He urged businesses to not assume about their status as essential services unilaterally. 

“We have released the status of 15 businesses that would fall under the Essential Services category on the https://covid19.govt.nz/”

Later today by 5 p.m. there will be an 0800 number available where businesses in doubt can call and confirm before remaining operational during the nation-wide lockdown. 

This list will evolve over time. It was last updated at 8 pm, 23 March 2020.

Sectors

Entities providing essential services (including their supply chains)

Accommodation

Lead agency: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

  • Any entity that provides accommodation services for essential workers, isolation/quarantine, and emergency housing

Border

Lead agency: Customs New Zealand

  • Customs New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries

Building and construction

Lead agency: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

  • Any entity involved in building and construction related to essential services and critical infrastructure

  • Any entity involved in building and construction required immediately to maintain human health and safety at home or work

  • Any entity that performs or is involved in building and resource consenting necessary for the above purposes

Courts, tribunals and the justice system

Lead agency: Ministry of Justice

  • Courts of New Zealand, tribunals

  • Critical Crown entities (eg Electoral Commission) 

Education

Lead agency: Ministry of Education

At level 3 only:

  • Any person employed or contracted as teaching, nursery and childcare staff, including specialist education professionals and others who provide support (eg to disabled children)

  • Any person employed by or contracted to an educational facility

  • Any entity supplying educational facilities or educational materials (eg printers)

Fast-moving consumer goods

Lead agency: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

  • Any entity involved in the supply, delivery, distribution and sale of food, beverage and other key consumer goods essential for maintaining the wellbeing of people, but not takeaway shops

Financial services

Lead agencies: Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank of New Zealand

  • Banks, insurers and other financial institutions, including any entity that contracts or provides services to them (eg secure money delivery services)

  • Securities registries

  • NZX

Health

Lead agency: Ministry of Health

  • District Health Boards (and all of their facilities), Pharmac, New Zealand Blood Service, Health Promotion Agency, Health Quality and Safety Commission

  • Any person employed or contracted as a doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacist, paramedic, medical laboratory scientists, kaiawhina workers, social workers, aged care and community workers, and caregivers more generally

  • Hospitals, primary care clinics, pharmacies, medical laboratories, care facilities (eg rest homes)

  • Any entity providing ambulance services

  • Any entity involved with the deceased/tupapaku (eg funeral homes, crematories, cemeteries)

  • Any entity producing health sector equipment, medicines and PPE

Local and national government

Lead agencies: Department of Internal Affairs (local government) and State Services Commission (national government)

  • Any entity involved in COVID-19 response, enforcement, planning or logistics or that has civil defence/emergency management functions (including any entity that supplies services for these purposes)

  • Key public services (see note below for agencies)

Primary industries, including food and beverage production and processing

Lead agency: Ministry for Primary Industries

  • Any entity involved in the packaging, production and processing of food and beverage products, whether for domestic consumption or export

  • Any entity involved in relevant support services, such as food safety and verification, inspection or associated laboratory services, food safety and biosecurity functions

  • Any entity providing veterinary services

  • Any entity whose closure would jeopardise the maintenance of animal health or welfare standards (including the short-term survival of a species)

Public safety and national security

Lead agency: National Emergency Management Agency

  • The Department of Corrections, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Police, New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, Government Communications Security Bureau

  • Courts of New Zealand

  • Any person employed or contracted in a public safety or national security role

Science

Lead agency: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

  • ESR, GNS, GeoNet, NIWA, MetService

  • Any entity (including research organisations) involved in COVID-19 response

  • Any entity (including research organisations) involved in hazard monitoring and resilience

  • Any entity (including research organisations) involved in diagnostics for essential services like biosecurity, public health

  • Laboratories and Physical Containment level 3 (PC3) facilities that could provide essential services and products that could be used to respond to COVID-19

  • Other significant research facilities including animal facilities, clinical trials and infrastructure that requires constant attention (eg samples, collections and storage facilities) that are important to New Zealand

Social services

Lead Agency: Ministry of Social Development/Oranga Tamariki

  • Those entities, including non-government organisations, that provide  welfare and social services to meet immediate needs, to be specified jointly by the Ministry of Social Development and Oranga Tamariki

Transport and logistics

Lead agency: Ministry of Transport

  • Ministry of Transport, New Zealand Customs, New Zealand Transport Agency, Civil Aviation Authority (including Aviation Security Service), Maritime New Zealand (including the Rescue Coordination Centre), Airways NZ, MetService, KiwiRail (including Interislander), and any entity which is contracted by these entities

  • Any entity that provides, or is contracted to an entity that provides, logistics services, including New Zealand Post and courier services

  • Any entity providing, or is contracted by an entity that provides, transport services to the Ministry of Health, a District Health Board, a Medical Officer of Health, or a Controller (as defined in section 4 of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act 2002)

  • Any entity which provides services related to the maintenance and ongoing operation of critical infrastructure (eg roads, rail, ports, airports)

  • Any entity which operates or is contracted by an entity listed in Schedule 1 of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act 2002, an aerodrome, a passenger and/or freight aviation service, a passenger and/or freight shipping service, a road freight service, a rail freight service, a vehicle recovery service; or a public transport service (under contract with a Regional Council)

  • Any small passenger service vehicle driver (who holds the relevant licence)

  • Any entity providing services to keep vehicles operational for essential work purposes (eg vehicle testing, mechanics, tyre services)

Utilities and communications, including supply chains

Lead agency: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and Ministry for Culture and Heritage (for broadcasting)

  • Any entity involved in the production, supply, sale distribution or disposal of electricity, gas, water, waste water (eg sanitation), waste (eg rubbish collection), fuel, telecommunication services, and any entity that is contracted by these entities

  • News (including news production) and broadcast media

  • Internet service providers

  • Any entity that provides maintenance and repair services for utilities and communications, including supply chains

  • Any entity supplying services to an essential workplaces that are required for the safe operation of that workplace (eg cleaning, security services)

For the avoidance of doubt, specified sectors and occupations in the following are also included in this list of essential services:

  • Schedule 1 of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management CDEM Act 2002 Schedule 1 of lifeline utilities, and

  • Employment Relations Act 2000 Schedule 1 of essential services.

The entities listed above will continue working, but will put in place alternative ways of working to keep employees safe, including shift-based working, staggered meal breaks, flexible leave arrangements and physical distancing.

We are setting up a call centre and free 0800 number to help answer questions about this.
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