loans of up to $100,000 will be provided at zero interest if paid back within two years or 3% per annum for up to a maximum of five years (interest-free period extended from one year on 9 November 2020);

repayments will not be required for the first two years;

businesses employing up to a maximum of 50 fulltime staff will be eligible;

the loans are to be used for "immediate cashflow needs" and to meet fixed costs, as well as investment in capital items (restrictions on the use of the loan were broadened beyond core business operating costs to capital items on 9 November 2020);

the scheme is open for applications from 12 May 2020 to 31 December 2023 (extended from 24 July 2020 on 5 July 2020 and further extended from 31 December 2020 on 9 November 2020);

payments will be made within five days of a loan being approved; and

it will be administered by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

$36.72 million has been allocated to projects in Hawke's Bay, Northland, Rotorua and Queenstown, regions hard hit economically by COVID-19.

$28 million has been allocated to support worker redeployment in Tairāwhiti.

$6.2 million has been allocated to support the redeployment of forestry workers nationally.

the RSP has been updated to reduce the time required for a business to have been in operation to be eligible for the RSP, from six months to one month; and

a second round of the RSP is now available until one month after the whole of New Zealand returns to Alert Level 1.

the $216 million over four years allocated to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) in the 2020 Budget (for more information, see Budget 2020);

working on shoring up the World Trade Organisation;

refreshing key trade relationships; and

the Trade for All agenda.

relaxing visa conditions to allow temporary migrant workers and international students to continue assisting with essential services during the COVID-19 outbreak;

making the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme more flexible, for example, by allowing stranded RSE workers to continue working in New Zealand without any limit on the roles they can do. Also, any additional time an RSE worker spends in New Zealand will not count towards the time they would ordinarily have to spend overseas before they can return for seasonal work. In addition, RSE scheme workers have had their visas extended for six months so they can stay in New Zealand longer and the requirement to return to their home country between seasons has been lifted in light of COVID-19 travel restrictions. On 10 September 2021, the government announced that one-way quarantine-free travel for RSE workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu will start in October 2021 (there will be additional health measures imposed on the workers including a requirement that they be vaccinated with at least one dose pre-departure);

extending Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) work visas due to expire between 21 June 2021 and 31 December 2021 for a further six months and giving SSE visa holders open work rights;

increasing the duration of Essential Skills visas for jobs paid below the median wage to 24 months;

automatically extending existing employer-assisted work visas for people in New Zealand (and their partners and dependent children) that were due to expire before 30 June 2021 by six months;

shifting the 12 month stand-down period applying to migrant workers from August 2020 to January 2022;

making new low-skilled work visas six months long instead of 12 months;

extending Working Holiday visas and relaxing restrictions on the maximum duration of work permitted;

prioritising visa applications for key roles in the healthcare sector;

postponing certain visa programmes, such as ballot registrations for the Samoan Quota; and

delaying the Accredited Employer Work Visa, which was due to come into effect on 1 November 2021, until mid 2022.

creating a new visa that will support migrants to leave exploitative situations; and

establishing a dedicated free phone number, online reporting and better triaging to make reporting exploitation easier.

$7.9 million for the Careers Support for Creative Jobseekers programme, which will support artists and creatives back into sustainable projects;

$70 million over three years for a Creative Arts Recovery and Employment Fund, which will support the rebuild of the creative industries by commissioning and supporting creative projects at a national and local level;

$60 million over three years for a Cultural Innovation Fund, which will support new ways of operating, cross-sector partnerships and create new ways to add value to the economy (including supporting innovative approaches to Māori artforms and traditional knowledge);

$20 million for a Cultural Capability Fund to focus on immediate needs in response to COVID-19, including legal services, online delivery and audience development; and

$16.5 million for a New Zealand Music Recovery Fund, which includes $7.1 million for Air's New Music programmes, $5 million for a Live Music Touring Fund, $3 million in immediate support for music venues to have save environments for audiences and artists and $1.4 million to help musicians recoup lost income through an Outward Sounds and NZ Music Month.

existing events that are considered regionally or nationally significant, where support is needed to be able to sustainably re-start or re-scale the event; or

where supporting the event will help retain sector-critical event organisers and suppliers for the long-term viability of the industry.

$196 million for Crown Research Institutes;

$150 million for a R&D loan scheme (for more information, see Budget 2020);

$33 million for Māori research and development opportunities;

$12 million for the Nationally Significant Collections and Databases; and

$10 million to help maintain in-house capability at Callaghan Innovation.