State and Territory 2021 COVID-19 business support measures – tabular summary

This is a good summary of the Covid-19 support packages offered by States and the Territory economically affected by their ‘lockdowns’ as at the beginning of September 2021.

See below for further details.

[Tax Month – September 2021]

 

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Tax Institute summary of State and Territory 2021 COVID-19 business support measures

The Tax Institute published a useful summary that sets out the key features and conditions of the State and Territory COVID-19 financial support measures currently available to businesses across Australia [in their weekly TaxVine email to members: No. 33, 3 September 2021. Download the summary here.

NSW COVID-19 support measures

The NSW Government COVID-19 support package includes:

Support available	What is it?	How much	Eligibility
COVID-19 Business Grant	A one-off payment to help businesses with cashflow support for the first 3 weeks of lockdown Helps cover business costs incurred from 1 June 2021 to 17 July 2021 Program closes on 13 September 2021	$7,500 to $15,000 depending on the decline in turnover	A decline in revenue of 30% or more in a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 17 July 2021 Aggregated annual turnover of $75,000 to $50 million (inclusive) Annual Australian wages up to $10 million Employing businesses: must maintain their 13 July 2021 employee headcount Apply for the 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant here
JobSaver	Fortnightly payments to help maintain employee headcount (as at 13 July 2021) and provide cashflow support to businesses Helps cover business costs incurred from 18 July 2021 Program closes on 18 October 2021	Employing businesses: 40% of their NSW weekly payroll, with payments between $1,500 and $100,000 per week Non-employing businesses: $1,000 per week	A decline in revenue of 30% or more in a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 Aggregated annual turnover between $75,000 and $250 million (inclusive) Employing businesses: must maintain their 13 July 2021 employee headcount Non-employing businesses: Business must be the primary income source for a person associated with the business Apply for JobSaver here
JobSaver extension for larger businesses in tourism, hospitality and recreation industries	Can apply from 26 August 2021 (backdated to 18 July 2021) to 18 October 2021 Applications will be manually assessed	Aggregated annual turnover of: More than $250m to $500m: $300,000 per week* More than $500m to $1 billion: $500,000 per week*	Aggregated annual turnover of: More than $250m to $500m: ≥ 50% More than $500m to $1b: ≥ 70% Minimum 1-month period within the lockdown (commenced 26 June 2021) compared with the same period in 2019 or another agreed period Maintain headcount from the day immediately prior to the month they first experienced the required decline in turnover Capped at 40% of NSW Weekly Payroll Apply for JobSaver here
COVID-19 Micro-business Grant	A fortnightly payment for businesses with a turnover between $30,000 and $75,000 (exclusive) Covers business costs incurred from 1 June 2021 Program closes on 18 October 2021	$1,500 per fortnight	A decline of revenue 30% or more in a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 Aggregated annual turnover between $30,000 and $75,000 (exclusive) Employing businesses: must maintain their 13 July 2021 employee headcount Non-employing businesses: Business must be the primary income source for a person associated with the business Apply for the 2021 COVID-19 Micro-business Grant here
Small business fees and charges rebate	A digital voucher that can be used to offset the costs of eligible NSW and local government fees and charges due and paid from 1 March 2021 to 30 June 2022 Program closes on 30 June 2022	Single $1,500 rebate, but can make multiple claims up to the $1,500 cap	Total Australian wages below NSW payroll tax threshold of $1.2 million
Payroll tax deferrals	Businesses have the option to defer their annual reconciliation and certain payroll tax payments. Interest free repayment plans for up to 12 months are available	Deferral of the 2020–21 annual reconciliation (due by 28 July 2021), as well as payroll tax payments due on 7 August and 7 September, until 7 October 2021	Any NSW business liable for payroll tax More information can be found on the Revenue NSW website
Payroll tax reduction	A 25% reduction to help reduce overheads for eligible businesses	Eligible employers will receive a 25% reduction in their 2021–22 payroll tax liability if they have experienced a 30% decline in turnover	A decline in turnover of 30% For NSW businesses with grouped Australian wages of no more than $10 million More information can be found on the Revenue NSW website
Gaming Machine Tax deferrals	Gaming machine tax deferral options for clubs and hotels	Clubs: deferral of the August quarter until 21 December 2021 Hotels: deferral of the June and September quarters until 21 January 2022	All NSW clubs or hotels liable for gaming machine tax More information can be found on the Revenue NSW website

 

Victorian COVID-19 support measures

Small Business COVID Hardship Fund

The Victorian Government’s Small Business COVID Hardship Fund assists eligible small and medium businesses:

• whose operations have been severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place since 27 May 2021
•  that have experienced at least a 70% reduction in turnover as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions
•  that are ineligible for other key COVID-19 Victorian Government business grant programs that have been announced since 27 May 2021.

The program offers grants of $14,000 to eligible small and medium businesses, including employing and non-employing businesses. This program will allow more businesses, who have previously not received support, to receive financial relief now.

More information on the Victorian Government’s support measures can be found here.

Queensland support measures

2021 COVID-19 Business Support Grants for lockdown-impacted businesses in Queensland

A joint Queensland and Australian Government support package for Queensland businesses has been announced. The package includes support for non-employing sole traders and expands on support for eligible small and medium businesses, and large tourism and hospitality businesses.

Successful applicants will receive the total value of the boosted grants ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 depending on the size of their annual payroll.

More information on the Queensland Government’s support measures can be found here.

ACT support measures

COVID-19 economic support for business

The ACT Government is delivering a range of measures to support local business and industry during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Small business support schemes
• Financial support for local tourism industry
• Food business registration, outdoor dining and liquor licencing fee waivers
• Payroll tax waivers, deferrals and exemptions.

More information on the ACT’s Government’s support measures can be found here.

Supporting more small and medium sized business to access funding

On 25 August 2021, the Government announced that it is providing additional support to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) who continue to deal with the economic impacts of the COVID‑19 crisis by expanding eligibility for the SME Recovery Loan Scheme.

The Government will remove requirements for SMEs to have received JobKeeper during the March quarter of 2021 or to have been a flood affected business in order to be eligible under the SME Recovery Loan Scheme.

SMEs who are dealing with the economic impacts of the coronavirus with a turnover of less than $250 million will be able to access loans of up to $5 million over a term of up to 10 years.

Other features of the SME Recovery Loan Scheme include:

• The Government guarantee will be 80% of the loan amount.
• Lenders are allowed to offer borrowers a repayment holiday of up to 24 months.
• Loans can be used for a broad range of business purposes, including to support investment.
• Loans may be used to refinance any pre-existing debt of an eligible borrower, including those from the SME Guarantee Scheme.
• Loans can be either unsecured or secured (excluding residential property).

The loans will be available through participating lenders until 31 December 2021.

More information can be found here.

[11.9.21]