What are essential services?
At alert level 3, businesses considered non-essential must close. Essential businesses, and those that support them, will still operate. Essential businesses include:
Accommodation
❚ Accommodation services for essential workers and people who need to be isolated/quarantined
Border
❚ Customs New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries
Building and construction
❚ Building and construction related to essential services, critical infrastructure, or immediately needed to maintain human health and safety at home/work
Courts, tribunals, justice system
❚ Courts of New Zealand and tribunals
❚ Critical Crown entities (eg Electoral Commission)
Education at Level 3 only:
❚ Schools and educational facilities (for example, ECE centres)
Fast-moving consumer goods
❚ Businesses involved in the supply, delivery, distribution and sale of food, beverage and other key consumer goods (not takeaways)
Financial services
❚ Banks, insurers and other financial institutions
Health
❚ Hospitals, primary care clinics, pharmacies, medical laboratories, care facilities
❚ Ambulance services
❚ Mortuary services
❚ Blood donor centres
Local and national government
❚ Any entity involved in Covid-19 response or that has civil defence/ emergency management functions
Key public services
❚ Primary industries, including food and beverage production and processing
❚ Packaging, production and processing of food and beverage products
❚ Food safety and verification, inspection or associated laboratory services, food safety and biosecurity functions
❚ Veterinary and animal health/ welfare services
Public safety and national security
❚ Emergency services
❚ Security and intelligence services
❚ Justice system
❚ Public safety and national security roles
Science
❚ Any entity (including research organisations) involved in Covid-19 response, hazard monitoring, resilience, diagnostics for essential services Social services
❚ Welfare and social services, including NGOs, which meet immediate needs (further guidance will be provided)
Transport and logistics
❚ Transport services
❚ NZ Post and courier services
❚ Any small passenger service vehicle driver – including taxis and ride-share services
❚ Utilities and communications, including supply chains
❚ Electricity, gas, water, waste, fuel, telecommunication services, internet providers and media
Entities providing essential services (plus supply chains)
This list will be reviewed over the coming days.