Whilst there has been a number of federal stimulus packages there are also a number of state level stimulus packages along with different grants available to a variety of industries. This list is by no means complete but gives an outline of some of the most readily available grants and stimulus packages available that aren’t federal based.
State Based Stimulus Packages
South Australia
The South Australian government has put together a number of assistance packages. The main emergency cash grants are available only to businesses with an annual turnover of $75,000. Other measures have been put in place such as payroll tax relief, waiving of liquor license fees for 2020-21 for those forced to close, Cost of living concessions for those on JobSeeker Payments and access to accrued leave for the public sector workforce.
They have also announced financial support for tax industry , fishing industry relief, amongst other relief packages mostly related to make businesses exempt from government license fees.
SA $10,000 Emergency Cash Grants for small business
Eligibility
- Employ people in South Australia.
- Have annual turnover of more than $75,000 (GST exclusive).
- Have an annual payroll of less than $1.5 million, and not be entitled to a payroll tax waiver under COVID-19 support measures introduced by the South Australian Government.
- Have an ABN and were carrying on the operation of the business in South Australia on 1 March 2020.
- Have been subject to closure or highly impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions^.
- Apply by 1 June 2020.
- Use the funds to support activities related to the operation of the business.
More information and eligibility criteria
SA Payroll Tax Relief
- 6 Month Waiver for all businesses with an annual payroll (grouped) up to $4 million
- 6 Month Deferral for businesses with an annual payroll (grouped) over $4 million
- Eligible employers are not required to pay paroll tax through April to September 2020
- Revenue SA will notify eligible businsses directly through RevenueSA Online
- Eligibility will be based on wages declared during the 2018-19 financial year
- If your business was not registered for payroll tax for the 2018-19 financial year or did not complete the 2018-19 Annual reconciliation you will need to apply to RevenueSA to determine eligibility.
- All employers must continue to lodge their monthly payroll tax returns
More information on SA Payroll relief
SA Land Tax Deferral
- From July, the Government’s significant land tax reforms will kick in, delivering $189m in savings to investors and landlords over the next three years.
- Under the new measures, individuals and businesses with outstanding quarterly bills for 2019-20 able to defer payments for 6 months (up to 28,000 private land tax ownerships will benefit)
- For 2020-21 Land Tax Transition Fund relief will be increased from 50% to 100% based on existing relief criteria guidelines – saving some investors up to $50,000
Please note that the land tax changes are still going ahead and it is crucial that SA Land owners are prepared for this. We have previously written an article about SA Land Tax Reforms. We also have a case study on how we saved one land owner $2,000 from Land Tax Reforms.
New South Wales
NSW Small Business Support Fund
Small business grants up to $10,000
Eligiblity
- have between 1-19 employees and a turnover of more than $75,000
- a payroll below the NSW Government 2019-20 payroll tax threshold of $900,000
- have an Australian Business Number as at 1 March 2020, be based in NSW and employ staff as at 1 March 2020
- be highly impacted by the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 issued on 30 March 2020
- use the funding for unavoidable business costs such as utilities, overheads, legal costs and financial advice
- provide appropriate documentation upon application.
Victoria
Victoria Business Support Fund
Funding of $10,000 per business is available through grant process
Eligibility
Businesses are eligible to apply for a grant through the Fund if they meet the following criteria:
- Have been subject to closure or highly impacted by Non-Essential Activity Directions issued by the Deputy Chief Health Officer to-date External link (opens in same window); and
- Employ people; and
- Have a turnover of more than $75,000; and
- Have payroll of less than $650,000; and
- Hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and held that ABN at 16 March 2020 (when the State of Emergency External link (opens in same window)was declared); and
- Have been engaged in carrying out the operation of the business in the Australian State of Victoria on 16 March 2020.
More information / Applications / further eligibility criteria
Queensland
Covid-19 Rental Grant
- One off payment of up to 4 weeks rent
- Maximum of $2000
- Available to those affected by Covid-19 pandemic that don’t have access to other financial assistance
- Eligible to people who have lost their job due to impact of Covid-19
- Paid Directly to the lessor
- Other eligibility criteria apply
Queensland COVID-19 Jobs Support Loans
- Low Interest Loans up to $250,000
- No repayments or interest in first year
- Plus 2 years interest only
- Aimed at retaining employees
- 10 year fixed term
- 2.5% fixed interest rate per annum
- Open until 25 September 2020 or until funding is fully committed
Tasmania
Tasmania has a number of different packages available with some useful business grants and other grants available to community groups and the arts.
Tasmania Business continuity grant
- Grants up to $750
- Aimed at allowing businesses to receive advice from a suitably qualified consultant to set up rapid recovery procedures
Tasmania Small Business Loan Support Package
- Loans from $20,000 TO $250,000
- for business continuity, viability and sustainability during Coronavirus period
- Maximum 5 year loans
- Interest free for 3 years
- Available to businesses with turnover of $10 million or less
Tasmanian Small Business Hardship Grant
Grants of $15,000 for businesses that employ fewer than 50 Full Time Employees. Must be incorporated to qualify.
Grants will be available to those businesses that:
- can meet the hardship test (reduction of revenue of 30 per cent), and
- can demonstrate an ability to continue to operate in the current environment and provide products or services necessary for the Tasmanian or Australian community, or
- may need to temporarily cease operation but can demonstrate strong prospects for future jobs sustainment or growth. Applications will be competitively
Tasmanian Small Business Emergency Support Grant
There is also a “round 2” emergency grant for businesses that did not qualify for the intial grant. These are available to sole traders, non employing businesses and owner operators. Grants of $2,500 are available to those that are eligible.
Western Australia
WA Small and Medium Businesses Support
- For small and medium businesses whose annual Australian Taxable Wages are between $1 million and $4 million
- One off grant of $17,500
- No application process.
- Automatically paid from July 2020 for eligible businesses
WA On Demand transport relief
Assistance for Taxis and on demand transport industry.
- $4.7 million in Regional Taxi Assistance Payments available to around 200 former country taxi licensees who paid a sum to a third party to acquire a taxi-car business and were operating against that licence on July 1, 2019;
- $1.5 million to provide a cash payment of $2,500 to around 600 authorised On-demand Booking Services that also hold an active Passenger Transport Vehicle (PTV) authorisation. These are largely sole traders or small and medium businesses providing taxi, tour and charter, luxury and special event services across Western Australia;
- $1.95 million to waive PTV authorisation renewal fees of $113 per vehicle for the next 12 months. Applies to approximately 17,500 vehicles used for on-demand taxi and charter, tourism and regular passenger transport services;
- $1 million to waive On-demand Booking Service authorisation renewal fees for the next 12 months. Fee costs depend on the number of vehicles the booking service uses. One vehicle costs $250 per annum, while large companies with 500 or more vehicles on their books pay $65,000; and
- The requirement for all metropolitan and regional taxis to have a new or upgraded cameras has been delayed from 2 July 2020 to at least 1 July 2021, which will relieve stress for approximately 300 regional taxis and 1,000 metropolitan taxis.
WA Waiver of 2019-20 payroll tax
- Payroll tax will be waived for a four-month period between March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 for small-to-medium sized businesses with Australia-wide annual wages of less than $7.5 million in 2019-20.
- This will deliver around $165 million in relief to around 10,700 businesses that will not be required to pay payroll tax for this period.
- Employers, or groups of employers, with Australian taxable wages below $5 million at 29 February 2020, do not have to apply for the waiver – the payroll tax waiver can automatically be claimed for March to June 2020 by:
- declaring WA taxable wages as normal in Revenue Online; and
- recording the value of WA taxable wages as exempt wages using the ‘Other Exempt Wages’ field.
- Employers, or groups of employers, with Australian taxable wages of $5 million or above (capped at $7.5 million) at 29 February 2020, or new employers registered for payroll tax from 1 March 2020, can apply to defer lodgement and payment of returns.
ACT
ACT Government COVID-19 Economic Survival Package
The ACT government has put forward a $351 million stimulus package that is very comprehensive in many different areas.
- Designed to protect as many jobs as possible
- $351 million package released
- Affects local businesses, families, households, healthcare, community and employees.
- Includes waivers of fees, $750 electricity rebates
- 6 months of payroll tax has been waived
Northern Territory
Small Business Survival Fund
Immediate survival payment amount
The immediate survival payment amounts include:
- $2,000 for sole traders
- $5,000 for businesses with 2 to 4 employees (FTEs)
- $20,000 for businesses with 5 to 19 employees (FTEs)
- $50,000 for businesses with more than 20 employees (FTEs).
Rapid adaption payment
The rapid adaption payment provides:
- up to $1,000 for businesses with one employee (FTE) and
- up to $5,000 for other eligible businesses to offset costs incurred in adapting their current business model to suit restrictions.
Elibility Criteria
- a legal entity and holder of a valid Australian business number (ABN) as at 23 March 2020, and
- a Territory enterprise, and
- usually operates in one of the industry sectors affected by the social gathering restrictions announced on 22 March 2020 and 24 March 2020, and / or
- has been significantly impacted by the physical distancing requirements in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – for example, staffing, turnover.
- Must have a NT Government Vendor ID
NT Business Improvement Grant
All NT businesses will be able to access a $10,000 grant. Further grant money available for projects available over $10,000 on a dollar for dollar basis up to a maximum of $20,000 grant. You can use the grant to purchase goods and services to make permanent physical improvements to a business (land and / or building) that help its operations and customer experience.
Eligible works include:
- buying new equipment
- new shop fit outs
- physical changes to attract customers.
Eligible works must:
- include a labour component and
- be carried out by an eligible business that is not related to the grant recipient.
The upgrades and purchases have to be from another Territory business.
The program operates through a voucher system.
Eligible for businesses that:
- has a valid legal entity and holds a valid Australian business number (ABN) from the date the program was announced (18 March 2020)
- is not an excluded recipient – refer to the terms and conditions
- has its principal place of doing business physically located in the Northern Territory (NT)
- services its customers or clientele from a shopfront premises
- offers goods and / or services to the public
- was offering its services wholly or substantially in the NT for at least one month at the time of applying for a grant.
NT Home Improvement Scheme
An incentive program to help keep trades working which is available to home owners.
The scheme operates on a voucher system, with home owners receiving either:
- a voucher worth $4,000 if they contribute at least $1,000 of their own money, or
- a voucher worth $6,000 if they contribute at least $2,000 of their own money.
Industry Relief/Stimulus Packages
Tourism Industry
SA Tourism has announced a varierty of initiatives for tourism businesses. Read more about SATC incentives – More information
Small Tourism Business Grants Fund
Financial support up to a maximum of $10,000 for sole traders and small tourism businesses with annual turnover of between $100,000 and $1,000,000.
Arts Industry
Copyright Agency Emergency Action Funding for Innovative Online Projects
Funding of up to $5,000 to help support writers and hosts/interviewers.
Homefront funding for Canberra Artists
Funding up to $10,000 per artist for Canberra based artists – More Information
Other Grant Providers
Facebook Small Business Grants programme
- Offering small business cash and advertising credit grants to assist during Covid-19
- Must have between 2 and 50 employees
- Must have been in business over a year
- Must have experience challenges from COVID-19
- Must be in or near a location where Facebook Operates
Ad Credits for Google Ads Small and Medium Sized Businesses
Google is giving up to $340 million of ad credits to existing advertisers
As the Covid-19 virus situation progresses many different industries and State Governments are releasing many different stimulus packages and grants. We will aim to keep you informed as to what is available for each industry and state.