To assist and support clubs impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, Snow Austraila has compiled the latest Government announcements (Federal and State) aimed at helping clubs and employers through this time. Please follow the buttons below for more information.

This will be updated as further announcements and information comes available.

Federal Government

March 30 Announcement
The Government is introducing a subsidy program to support employees and businesses. The JobKeeper Payment is designed to help businesses affected by the Coronavirus to cover the costs of their employees’ wages, so that more employees can retain their job and continue to earn an income. The Government will provide $1,500 per fortnight per employee for up to 6 months. Employers must elect to participate in the scheme by making an application to the Australian Taxation Office and providing supporting information demonstrating a downturn in their business. Eligible employers will receive the payment for each eligible employee that was on their books on 1 March 2020 and continues to be engaged by that employer – including full-time, part-time, long-term casuals and stood down employees.

For for information on the Jobkeeper payments and to check you eligibility click the buttons below:

Jobkeeper Information - Employers

Jobkeeper information - Employees

March 22 Announcement
The Government is providing up to $100,000 to eligible small and medium-sized businesses, and not for-profits that employ people, with a minimum payment of $20,000. Small and medium-sized business entities with aggregated annual turnover under $50 million and that employ workers are eligible.

An additional payment is also being introduced in the July – October 2020 period. Eligible entities will receive an additional payment equal to the total of all of the Boosting Cash Flow for Employers payments they have received. This means that eligible entities will receive at least $20,000 up to a total of $100,000 under both payments.

More information on this stimulus package is available at https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/businesses

Contact the Business Hotline on 13 28 46 for support and advice on the initiatives for small to medium sized businesses.
 
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced a series of administrative concessions to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19. The ATO will tailor solutions for owners or directors of businesses that are currently struggling due to the coronavirus, including temporary reduction of payments or deferrals, or withholding enforcement actions including Director Penalty Notices and wind-ups.
 
More information is available at https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Dealing-with-disasters/In-detail/Specific-disasters/COVID-19/

Victoria

28 March Announcement
Payroll tax refunds have now hit the bank accounts of 2,700 small businesses, putting $52 million immediately back into the pockets of business owners.

More than 21,000 small businesses have been contacted about their refund, with all eligible businesses who have provided their bank details to get their money from the Victorian Government by April 11.

In more support for businesses impacted by the coronavirus, the first tranche of the Government’s $500 million Business Support Fund grants will flow from March 30, with $10,000 grants available for over 30,000 employers who don’t pay payroll tax.

23 March Announcement
As part of a $1.7 billion economic survival package, the Victorian Government has announced $500 million to establish a Business Support Fund to assist small to medium businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

As part of the package, the Government will provide full payroll tax refunds for the 2019-20 financial year to small and medium-sized businesses with payroll of less than $3 million – giving $550 million back to businesses who need it.

The same businesses will also be able to defer any payroll tax for the first three months of the 2020/21 financial year until 1 January 2021, freeing up a further $83 million in cashflow.

To access the concessions you will need to register your interest with Business Victoria to receive more details of the support package.

If you have queries about the shutdowns or support available, please contact Business Victoria’s dedicated hotline on 13 22 15

More information is available at https://www.business.vic.gov.au/disputes-disasters-and-succession-planning/illness-and-business-management-plan/coronavirus-business-support

NSW

NSW Small Business Support Grant

The NSW Government grants of up to $10,000 to support small businesses across NSW struggling to cope with the COVID-19 shutdown.
To be eligible, businesses will need to:

• 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. 
• Applications for a small business grant of up to $10,000 will be available through Service NSW within a fortnight and remain open until 1 June 2020.

Click here for more details and to apply

March 17 Announcement
The NSW Government has announced a $2.3 billion health boost and economic stimulus package to help to protect communities and jobs in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak over the next six months.

Key elements for clubs include:

• $450 million for the waiver of payroll tax for businesses with payrolls of up to $10 million for three months (the rest of 2019-20). This means these businesses will save a quarter of their annual payroll tax bill in 2019-20
• $56 million to bring forward the next round of payroll tax cuts by raising the threshold limit to $1 million in 2020-21
• $80 million to waive a range of fees and charges for small businesses

More information is available at https://preview.nsw.gov.au/news/health-boost-and-economic-stimulus

ACT

March 20 Announcement 
The ACT Government has announced a first phase $137 million economic survival package to protect as many jobs as possible and support Canberra businesses.

In the first phase of their response, the ACT Government will implement a range of measures to reduce cashflow pressures in the short term for local small and medium businesses in the industry sectors that are most impacted.

Key elements include:

• $2,622 credit to commercial rates bill
• $750 rebate to small businesses through their next electricity bill
• Businesses that pay up to $10m in wages will be able to defer payroll tax for 12 months
• Affected industries will receive a one-off six month waiver on payroll tax

More information is available at https://apps.treasury.act.gov.au/budget/covid-19-economic-survival-package/local-business-and-industry

Please feel free to contact Snow Australia for any questions in relation  to how to access Federal and/or State Government stimulus initiatives at info@snow.org.au.