On Wednesday 21st July, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced an injection of $282.5 million to Victoria’s business support package, which will now total $484.3 million with the goal to support over 90,000 businesses and sole traders across the state during the course of Victoria’s fifth lockdown.
Victorian Businesses who are eligible for the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund will receive an additional $4,200, taking the total payment to $7,200. Businesses who are eligible for the Business Costs Assistance Program will receive a top-up of $2,800, taking the grant’s total to $4,800.
Further to the across-the-board top-ups, businesses in the alpine hospitality sector, retail and accommodation, and experience operator sector which were pre-eligible for grants of up to $15,000 will receive an additional $3,000 to shoulder some of the burden that restrictions have imposed on high-season earnings.
Eligible public events and events suppliers who have been negatively impacted by the lockdown will receive support of up to $25,000 and $10,000, respectively, as part of another grant extension, this time to the Impacted Public Events Support Program.
On top of this the Live Performance Support programs, will also receive a new round of funding, which will see eligible presenters receive $7,000 and suppliers receive $2,000.
Martin Pakula, the Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery believes that boosting the business support grants was vital in ensuring businesses re-emerge from the pandemic able to resume driving the state’s economy.
“We’re making sure the businesses most affected by the lockdown have a chance to emerge from it in decent shape, so they can continue to play their vital role as employers and drivers of Victoria’s economy,” said Martin Pakula, the Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery.
Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said the state’s arts industry had been hit particularly hard, explaining the need for added support.
“Our live-performance sector has been doing it tough, with events being cancelled and gigs lost — that’s why we are providing additional support for those who work on stage and behind the scenes,” said Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson
Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence outlined that the support to local clubs was vital to organisations who have lost revenue from events that may only occur once every year.
“Local clubs rely on annual and one-off events to fund their everyday operations, which benefits players, supporters and the wider community. We’re proud to be backing these important organisations in tough times” said Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence.
The Victorian government has also confirmed that, following discussions with the federal government, the vast majority of micro-businesses not registered for GST will be eligible for the COVID disaster payment of either $600 or $375, depending on the hours lost, over a seven-day period.
The Victorian government has given just under $7 billion in direct economic support for businesses over the course of the pandemic, including more than $500 million through the May/June restrictions period with $461.2 million allocated for the lead Business Costs Assistance Program and Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund.
So far as of writing, approximately $180 million has already been paid over the past two days to more than 86,000 eligible businesses across Victoria.
More Information About The NSW State Government’s Recently Announced Support To Help Businesses During Greater Sydney Lockdown
The NSW Government has announced a major economic support package worth billions of dollars serving a purpose to help businesses and individuals right across the state who have been impacted by the latest covid-19 lockdown.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the NSW Government was offering support in as many areas as possible, with payroll tax cuts for eligible businesses, up to $75 million in support for the performing arts sector and $26 million for the accommodation industry.
The support package will now be up to a total of $5.1 billion, this includes more than $1 billion from the Commonwealth as part of a business and employee support program.
The business grants program announced at the end of June has also been expanded, with grants between $7500 and $15,000 available to eligible businesses with annual wages up to $10 million.
A new grant program has also been introduced for smaller micro businesses with turnover between $30,000 and $75,000.
Thousands of employees will also be protected with NSW committing half of a new $2.1 billion business and employee support program to be delivered together with the Commonwealth.
Businesses in NSW will benefit from payroll tax waivers of 25% for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million that have experienced a 30% decline in turnover.
From Sunday 18th July, the Covid-19 Disaster Payment will also increase from $500 to $600 each week if a person has lost 20 hours or more of work a week, or $325 to $375 each week if a person has lost anywhere between 8 and 20 hours of work.
The increased payment will be available to NSW individuals outside Commonwealth-declared hotspots in Sydney if they have lost hours and satisfy the eligibility criteria.
The payment will be a recurring payment for approved recipients for as long as the Commonwealth-declared hotspot and lockdown restrictions remain in place. This will remove the need for recipients to re-claim for each seven-day period of a lockdown.