Essential businesses, and those that support them, will continue to provide the necessities of life for everyone in New Zealand.

This means food, medicine, healthcare, energy, fuel, waste-removal, internet and financial support will continue to be available.

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What are essential businesses?

Entities and their workers carrying out the following services are considered essential. This also includes entities in their supply chains (eg those providing IT and data infrastructure to an entity providing an essential service).

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: – Advertise on whatsoninvers.nz – 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, kaiāwhina 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/tūpāpaku (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. Our website will be updated as soon as this is set up.

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More specific information for each sector will be published shortly.

Non-essential businesses

Non-essential businesses must now close. All bars, restaurants, cafes, gyms, cinemas, pools, museums, libraries, playgrounds and any other place where the public congregate must close their face to face function.

Over the next 48 hours as we move to Level 4, takeaway services must move to close their operations.

Physical distancing means staff and the public stay 2 metres apart, hand hygiene and cleaning must be maintained. Keeping full details of guests, and keeping people away if they are sick is required.

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Essential businesses and those that support them will continue to provide the necessities of life for everyone in New Zealand. This means food, healthcare, energy, internet, waste collection and financial support will always be available. They must have health measures and contact tracing in place.

We need your support to protect New Zealand and eradicate COVID-19.

Enforcement measures may be used to ensure everyone acts together, now.

Essential Businesses/Services That Can Remain Open

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