Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme

Ministry of Health Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme
Report on detailed criteria and processes

Note: The Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme has now been closed to new applications

Date of publication: November 2003
Updated: August 2005

In May 2002 the Minister of Health announced the sanitary works subsidy scheme (SWSS) to help small to medium sized communities to upgrade or build new sewerage systems or sewage treatment plants.

In August 2002 the Ministry of Health Sanitary Works Technical Advisory Committee (SAWTAC) was established. This committee has developed a report for the detailed criteria and processes for the scheme which has been approved by the Minister of Health after consulting with the Minister for the Environment.

The report from the Sanitary Works Technical Advisory Committee contains:

the detailed criteria for eligibility for the scheme

the processes used to rank applications (should there be more applications than there is money immediately available)

application forms and the information that is required with an application.

In September 2003 the Minister of Health approved an amendment to the qualifying criteria for the Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme. To be eligible for subsidy, councils are required to match the government subsidy with an Equivalent Contribution. The source of this Equivalent Contribution has caused difficulty for some councils and the Minister has approved an amendment designed to give local government more flexibility in sourcing these funds. This report has been amended accordingly.

Applications were accepted for consideration from 1 January 2003. Funding for the scheme was available from 1 July 2003.

On 25 July 2005 the Prime Minister Rt. Hon Helen Clark and Associate Minister of Health, Hon Pete Hodgson announced at the Local Government New Zealand Conference a further change to the Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme namely that the maximum subsidy level under the scheme has risen from 50 per cent to 90 per cent. This means that for those communities with a population of less than 2,000 who have both a deprivation index of 7 or greater and an average community plus territorial authority deprivation index of 7 or greater, the subsidy will be increased to match the average deprivation index, expressed as a percentage. This change will apply retrospectively to communities that meet the amended criteria and have already been granted subsidy. For example, a community with a deprivation index of 8.2 in a relevant territorial authority with a deprivation index of 6.8 would be entitled to a subsidy of 75%.

For all other eligible communities, the rate of subsidy remains unchanged. This decision is retrospective to communities that meet the amended criteria and have already been granted subsidy.

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Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme (SWSS) Guidelines Part 1 - Applicants

Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme (SWSS) Guidelines Part 2 - Medical Officers of Health

Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme (SWSS) Guidelines Part 3 - Ministry of Health Subsidy Desk