A note from our Managing Partner & Lockdown Support

A note from our Managing Partner

Well…here we are again in Victoria. Lockdown number five. Our SME clients are the backbone of the Australian economy. There is little doubt that confidence has been knocked out of many of our clients. Let’s hope we are all back to the grind sooner rather than later. The Federal Government has attempted to assist both business and individuals with Jobkeeper, Jobseeker, Cashflow Boost etc. and continue to assist each State.

At State level many of our clients have expressed the view that the Victorian Government Support, whilst appreciated is too little and often too late. Accessing benefits is often quite a task with many clients feeling that it’s done to deter applications. A common thread that we often hear is that the State  Governments have little understanding of the drivers of small business and remain trigger happy to “go hard & go fast”.  In turn, Small Business suffers greatly. For instance, many small & not so small businesses in the hospitality sector lose tens of thousands of dollars of produce that will still need to be paid for. No doubt there are many examples.

Conversely, every fortnight our Politicians continue to be fully paid, including pay rises from time to time. I accept that with Covid-19 we are in uncharted waters and the State Government is trying their best. Yet, how much better would you, the SME business person or hard working employee feel, if our State Politicians shared in our pain. Wouldn’t it be great to see the politicians in power put at risk their remuneration. During Covid-19 they could tie their salaries to the Victorian Economy – if it’s down 20%, then they are paid 20% less. By doing this our Politicians share our pain and perhaps we may start to appreciate them more?

No doubt, this may not be a perfect solution. So let’s start a dialogue based on “sharing the good times and bad times”. I would really love to hear your views and ideas.

Who knows maybe we can be the agent of change 😊.

Lockdown Support

The Commonwealth, Victorian & New South Wales Governments have recently announced additional support for businesses and individuals affected by the short lockdown necessary to get ahead of the Delta strain, here is a summary of what is available:

Business Support – Victoria

The Victorian Government are providing new cash grants for businesses affected by the short lockdown. Automatic payments will be made to eligible businesses and sole traders across the state to minimise delays and swiftly get money into the pockets of businesses who need it most.

Up to 90,000 businesses that have and will receive payments through the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund and Business Costs Assistance Program relating to the May-June lockdown will receive the Victorian Government’s new support payments of $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

Payments are due to commence over the course of this week – with total funding of $201.8 million. Eligible businesses will include restaurants, cafes bars, event suppliers, tourism and accommodation providers and non-essential retailers.

Business Support – New South Wales

According to the Service NSW website, the following support measures are available to eligible business impacted by the current Greater Sydney COVID-19 restrictions.

COVID-19 business grant
Businesses, sole traders and not-for-profit organisations may be eligible for a grant the amount of which is to be based on the decline in turnover experienced during the restrictions as follows:

Eligibility criteria include that the entity has an active ABN, had an aggregated turnover between $75,000 and $50 million for the year ended 30 June 2020, total annual Australian wages of no more than $10 million and demonstrate that the business is physically located and primarily operating in NSW. In addition, business must maintain their employee headcount as of 13 July 2021.

Micro business grant
Small businesses and sole trader with annual turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000, may be eligible for a payment of $1,500 per fortnight of restrictions if they suffer a decline in turnover of at least 30%.

What the “restriction period” is and how the “decline in turnover” is to be measured for the purposes of these grants are yet to be announced.

Worker Support Payments – Victoria & New South Wales

The Victorian Government has also reached agreement with the Commonwealth Government to fund income support payments from day one of the lockdown.

Workers affected by the public health restrictions are now eligible for:

• Payments of $600 will be made to Victorians that lose 20 hours or more of work during the period of the lockdown
• Payments of $375 will be made to individuals that lose between 8-20 hours of work during the period of the lockdown

In addition to qualifying under the lost hours, you must also:

• Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or temporary visa holder who has the right to work in Australia;
• Be aged 17 years or over;
• Not have paid leave available through your employer (other than annual leave); and
• Not be receiving income support payments, a state or territory pandemic payment, Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment or state small business payment for the same period. Income support payments include Age Pension, Austudy, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, Farm Household Allowance, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Partner Allowance, Special Benefit, Widow Allowance, Youth Allowance and Income Support Supplement, Service Pension or Veteran Pension from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

There is no liquid assets test applied to receive these payments.

The Federal Government will fund payments for those Victorians who work or live in a COVID-19 Hotspot declared by the Commonwealth – that includes Greater Melbourne, Moorabool Shire, the City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliff and the Surf Coast Shire.

The Victorian Government will fund payments for Victorians who live outside of these areas but are still subject to the lockdown.

Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment – Victoria & New South Wales
The Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment is for those who have been advised by their relevant health authority to self-isolate or quarantine because they:

• Test positive to COVID-19;
• Have been identified as a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case;
• Care for a child, 16 years or under, who has COVID-19; or
• Care for a child, 16 years or under, who has been identified as a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case; or
• Care for a person who has tested positive to COVID-19.

In addition to qualifying under the above, you must also:

• Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or temporary visa holder who has the right to work in Australia; and
• Be aged 17 years or over; and
• Be unable to go to work and earn an income; and
• Not have appropriate leave entitlements, including pandemic sick leave, personal leave or carers leave; and
• Not be receiving any income support payment, ABSTUDY Living Allowance, Paid parental leave or Dad and Partner Pay. Income support payments include Age Pension, Austudy, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, Farm Household Allowance, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Partner Allowance, Special Benefit, Widow Allowance, Youth Allowance and Income Support Supplement, Service Pension or Veteran Pension from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Applications for the Worker Support Payments and the Pandemic Leave Payments can be made through Services Australia at www.servicesaustralia.gov.au.

Our team are working from home, no matter where they are, all our staff are able to access files and are contactable through their usual business email and phone number. Should you have any questions or need any help applying for the grant, or ensuring you receive all available assistance, please reach out to our team at Rose Partners and we will do our best to assist.

Stay safe.

The Team at Rose Partners