State-by-state breakdown of COVID-19 funding measures
As Australia continues to experience rolling lockdowns from COVID-19, each state and territory government is implementing measures to provide short-term funding to affected people and businesses.
It can be difficult to know what you and your business are entitled to in each state.
Here, our tax specialists outline the concessions available in each state and territory.
Federal
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 Disaster Payment | Varies depending on: • The state • Whether the individual receives an eligible income support payment (including Centrelink or Department of Veterans’ Affairs income support payments) Amount of hours unable to work due to lockdown | Generally for individual workers and sole-trader businesses who lost work and income due to a COVID-19 public health order | Varies by state and by lockdown dates |
New South Wales
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small business fees and charges rebate | Up to $1,500 rebate | Payroll must be under $1.2m. Must be used to assist with payment of eligible fees and charges These are typically NSW and local government fees (eg. Liqour licences, council rates, events fees). | 30/6/2022 |
| Business Grant | Once off payment of $7,500, $10,500 or $15,000 | Aggregated turnover between $75k and $50m for year ended 30 June 2020. Payroll must not exceed $10m. Grant can be used to fund business costs incurred from 1 June to 17 July 2021 (eg salaries and rent). Must have had a 30%, 50% or 70% reduction in turnover due to the Public Health Order over a minimum two-week period from 26/6/21-17/7/21 comparable to 2019, 2020 or the two weeks prior to any restrictions between 12/6/21 and 25/6/21. | 1/10/21 (extended from 13/9/21) |
| Micro business grant | Fortnightly payment of $1,500 | Must be a micro business (aggregated annual turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000) Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover due to the Public Health Order over a minimum two-week period from 26/6/21 comparable to 2019, 2020 or the two weeks prior to any restrictions between 12/6/21 and 25/6/21 Reconfirming of ongoing eligibility will be required for the end of each grant fortnight going forward. For payments after September, these will only be made once eligibility is confirmed | 18/10/21 |
| JobSaver | Recurring payment equivalent to 40% of weekly NSW payroll during the Greater Sydney lockdown from 18/7/21, limited to between $1,500 and $100,000 per week | Aggregated annual turnover between $75k and $250m for year ended 30 June 2020 Must maintain employee headcount from 13 July 2021 or otherwise from the day immediately prior to the fortnight they first experienced the required decline in turnover Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover due to the Public Health Order over a minimum two-week period from 26/6/21 comparable to 2019, 2020 or the two weeks prior to any restrictions between 12/6/21 and 25/6/21 Reconfirming of ongoing eligibility will be required for the end of each grant fortnight going forward. For payments after September, these will only be made once eligibility is confirmed | 18/10/21 |
Victoria
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs Victoria Fund | Up to $20,000 in wage subsidies per employee (amount of employees is limited) | Must employ at least one priority Victorian job seeker prior to applying | N/A – applications can be made until the fund is exhausted |
| Business Continuity Fund | $5,000 grants to businesses that remain impacted by capacity limits due to public health restrictions Additional $2,000 ($7,000 in total) for business located in the CBD | Automatic eligibility for businesses who were recipients of the previous Business Cost Assistance Program Round Two (or extension) | N/A – ongoing |
| Business Costs Assistance Program Round Four (Top-Up-Payments) | Weekly payments based on annual payroll size: - $2,800 per week for business with annual payroll less than $350,000 - $5,600 per week for business with annual payroll between $650,000 and less than $3 million $8,400 per week for businesses with annual payroll of $3 million to $10 million | Automatic eligibility for business who were recipients of the Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two or July Extension | N/A – business will remain eligible while they are unable to operate due to public health restrictions |
| Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 (Top-Up Payments) | Weekly payments based on venue capacity limits: - $5,000 for a capacity of up to 99 patrons or where patron capacity is not specified - $10,000 for a capacity of 100 to 499 patrons $20,000 for a capacity of 500 or more | Automatic eligibility for licensed hospitality business that have previously received grants under the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 or July Extension programs | N/A – hospitality businesses will remain eligible while they are unable to operate due to public health restrictions |
ACT
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 Business Support Grants | Up to $20,000 for employing business and up to $7,500 for non-employing businesses over the 5-week Canberra lockdown | Have employees as at 1 Apr 2021 (for employing business, active business participants are not considered as employees for the purpose of this grant) Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover during a consecutive 7-day period between 13/08/2021-17/09/2021 compared to a consecutive 7-day period in Apr 2021- Aug 2021. | 5pm on 7/10/21 |
| COVID-19 Small Business Hardship Scheme | Up to $10,000 rebate for payroll tax, utility charges, rates and other eligible fees and charges. | Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover from June quarter 2021 to September quarter 2021 Annual turnover between $30,000 and $10 million. | TBA (application will open in Oct 2021) |
| Accomodation and Tourism Venue Operator Support Program | Up to $75,000 rebate on fixed water and sewerage charges for the first two quarters of 2021-22. | Annual turnover between $30,000 and $10 million. Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover in Jul 2021 compared to Apr 2021 | 5 pm on 17/9/21 |
| Small Tourism Operator Covid Recovery Payment | Up to $15,000 rebate for eligible expenses occurred in Jun and Jul 2021 | Annual turnover between $30,000 and $10 million. Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover in Jul 2021 compared to Apr 2021 | 5 pm on 17/9/21 |
Queensland
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Support Grants | Once off payment of $1,000, $10,000, $15,000 or $30,000 | Must employ staff, have Queensland headquarters and a reduction in turnover of 30% or more during a nominated 7-day period including at least 1 full day of a Queensland lockdown event (different criteria apply for non-employing sole traders). | 16/11/2021 (sole traders 30/11/21) |
| Payroll tax relief for tourism & hospitality | Deferral of payroll tax liability for the month of July 2021 (or August 2021) for 6 months | Must operate a business in the hospitality or tourism sector, lodge Queensland payroll tax returns monthly and have been negatively impacted by COVID 19 lockdowns in Queensland | 30/09/2021 |
South Australia
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 Business Support grant- July 21 | Once off $3,000 payment OR Once off $1,000 for non-employers | Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover during the week of 20/7/21 to 26/7/21 | 30/9/21 |
| COVID-19 Additional business support grant | Once off $3,000 payment OR Once off $1,000 for non-employers PLUS a Once off $1,000 for businesses in the Adelaide CBD | Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover during the fortnight of 28/7/21 to 10/8/21 Must be in a specific industry Must be located in the Adelaide CBD to qualify for additional $1,000 | 17/10/21 |
| COVID-19 Tourism and Hospitality support grant | Once off $3,000 payment OR Once off $1,000 for non-employers | Must have received the ‘COVID-19 Additional business support grant’ | N/A – will be paid automatically |
| COVID-19 Tourism and Hospitality support grant- larger turnover | Once off $7,000 payment OR Once off $17,000 payment | Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover during the fortnight of 28/7/21 to 10/8/21 Must be in a specific industry Must have turnover greater than $2m to receive the $7k Must have turnover greater than $5m to receive the $17k (instead of the $7k) | 31/10/21 |
| COVID-19 Business Hardship Grant | Once off $6,000 payment OR Once off $2,000 for non-employers | Must have had a 50% reduction in turnover during the period of 20/7/21 to 31/8/21 | 31/10/21 |
| Major Events Grant | Up to $25,000 for organisers of cancelled or postponed major public events Up to $100,000 where the event would have had more than 10,000 attendees | Must have had an event cancelled/postponed during the period of 20/7/21 to 10/8/21 Must be able to prove there was a non-recoverable financial loss. | 17/10/21 |
Western Australia
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourism and Travel Agent Support Fund | $2,000 for sole traders and employing businesses ($50,000-$100,000 turnover) $5,000 for employing businesses ($100,000-$1m turnover) $10,000 for employing businesses $1m-$10m turnover) | Must demonstrate at least a 30% reduction in turnover, comparing 15 May - 25 June 2021 with 10 July - 20 August 2021 periods, and must be: - Registered with Tourism WA as a previous grant recipient or as part of 2020 or 2021 marketing campaigns, OR: - A member of, or accredited through a relevant tourism organisation as of 22 August 2021, OR - A travel agent that offers domestic products to travellers | 3pm 30/9/21 |
Northern Territory
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitation reliant small business support program | Once off $3,000 payment OR Once off $1,000 for non-employers | Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover as a result of travel restrictions during July 21, compared to 2019. Must be in one of the eligible industry sectors. | 30/9/21 |
Tasmania
| Grant | What do you get | Main eligibility criteria | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 Micro and Small Business- Border Closure Critical Support Grant | Once off payment of $1,000, $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000 | Must have had a 30% reduction in turnover for any two week period that falls within the period 27 June 2021 – 22 to September 2021, compared to the same period in 2019 or 2020. | 23/9/21 |
| COVID-19 Micro and Small Business- Border Closure Critical Support Grant- Supercharged | Once off payment of $3,000, $6,000, $15,000, $25,000 or $50,000 | Same as above. Businesses that were entitled to the original payment will receive it automatically. | 8/10/21 |
| COVID-19 Micro and Small Business- Border Closure Critical Support Grant- Supercharged round 2 | Once off payment of $3,000, $6,000, $15,000, $25,000 or $50,000 | Same as above. Businesses that were entitled to the original payment will receive it automatically. | Applications will open in November |
How can we help?
The requirements of each grant are different. You may require your accountant to provide you with the evidence you need for meeting the financial tests.
Contact your local Bentleys advisor for assistance.
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and should not be relied on as advice. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs and seek professional advice before making any decisions based on this information.
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Tony Sacre
Chief Executive Officer
Bentleys Network
Jo Adams
Network Marketing Director
Bentleys Network