Your guide to government support

Accommodation Support Grant – applications close 30 November 2021.

If you’re an accommodation provider who experienced cancellations for stays between Friday 25 June 2021 and Sunday 11 July 2021, you may be eligible for the accommodation support grant.

Financial support consists of:

• $2,000 for cancellations of 10 nights or less
• $5,000 for cancellations of 11 nights or more.

If you have more than one accommodation property in NSW, you'll be able to submit an application for each property. See eligibility criteria and apply online. 

SME Summer Holiday Stock Guarantee

Allows eligible businesses with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million to apply for a grant of up to $20,000 to compensate for the loss of perishable stock, or claim $10,000 for reduced capacity to sell non-perishable items, if a local lockdown occurs and are impacted.

The stock guarantee would be available to non-essential businesses that may be forced to shut their doors between December 1 2021 and January 31 2022 due to public health orders.

Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate

This rebate is being increased from $1,500 to $2,000 and has been expanded to include the cost of tolls. It will be eligible for use until 30 June 2022.

JobSaver – Changes

• When NSW reaches the 70% target, JobSaver payments will taper from the current payment rate equivalent to 40% of weekly payroll to 30% of weekly payroll. This is anticipated to occur by 10 October.
• From 10 to 23 October, the weekly payments for employing businesses will be reduced by 25% to a minimum of $1,125 and maximum of $75,000 weekly, and grants to be 30% of weekly payroll.
• The grant for sole traders will reduce to $750.
• At the 80% target, the Commonwealth’s contribution to the JobSaver program will stop. This is anticipated to occur by 31 October.  The NSW government contribution will continue until 30 November. 

Previous support measures 

From 10 September, eligible businesses / NFPs need to log into the Business Profile of MyServiceNSW each fortnight to reaffirm the minimum turnover decline and employee headcount maintained for payment to continue.

• Eligible businesses with a turnover between $75,000 and $250 million that continue to experience a minimum 30% decline in turnover due to the Public Health Order will be eligible for payments of up to 40% of their pre-COVID weekly NSW payroll
• Eligible businesses in the hospitality, tourism, and recreation sectors with a turnover of more than $250 million and up to $1 billion that continue to experience the requisite decline in turnover due to the Public Health Order will be eligible to receive payments of 40% of their pre-COVID weekly NSW payroll, up to $500,000 per week
• Eligible Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisations in the social support and animal welfare sectors with a turnover between $75,000 and $250 million that show a minimum 15% and less than 30% decline in turnover, will be eligible for payments of up to 40% of their pre-COVID weekly NSW payroll. Eligible NFPs will be able to apply from later in September to access backdated payments. 

Extension of COVID-19 Business Grant – 1 October 2021

Ongoing support via JobSaver is available for businesses that experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more, or had to close due to the Public Health Order, in the restriction period 26 June 2021 - 17 July 2021. Read more. 

Extension of COVID-19 Micro-business Grant – 2 October 2021 

From the week commencing 13 September, eligible businesses need to log into the Business Profile of MyServiceNSW each fortnight to reaffirm the minimum turnover decline and employee headcount maintained for payment to continue.

• Eligible businesses with a turnover of more than $30,000 and less than $75,000 that continue to experience a minimum 30% decline in turnover due to the Public Health Order will be eligible for a fortnightly payment of $1,500.

Payroll tax deferrals and waivers 

• Businesses eligible for a 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant or JobSaver with payrolls $10 million or less will be eligible for a 50% reduction (waiver) in their 2021-22 payroll tax, up from 25%.
• All businesses will also be able to further defer payroll tax payments due from July 2021 through to December 2021. The payments will now be due on 14 January 2022, and 12-month interest-free repayment plans will become available.  

More information available at Revenue NSW.

Support for commercial, retail, and residential landlords

• Eligible commercial and retail landlords that provide rental waivers to COVID-19 impacted tenants and have not claimed land tax relief, will be eligible for a monthly grant of up to $3,000.
• Eligible residential landlords can choose between applying for land tax relief or a further payment of $1,500, taking total assistance to a maximum of $4,500 per tenancy if they agree to reduce the rent for COVID-19 impacted tenants by at least $4,500. 

Find out more on leasing support. 

Commercial tenancy protection

• Landlords may not be able to take action such as eviction, if the impacted tenant breaches a retail or commercial lease due to the impacts of COVID-19. Tenants and landlords must once again renegotiate the terms of the lease, including rent.  The period of protection has been extended to 13 January 2022. 
• Commercial landowners may apply for up to 100% of their land tax liability for 2021 if they have reduced rent for a tenant by at least the amount being claimed for any period between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2021. 

Test and Isolate payment - eligibility extended 

As of 9 September, a one-off support payment of $320 is available to eligible workers who reside anywhere in NSW that are required to test and isolate immediately. Prior to 9 September, the support was only available to workers from an area of concern. The payment is designed to avoid potential transmission of the virus through workplaces when people do not get tested as soon as they are required or fail to follow the isolations rules. Read the guidelines including eligibility criteria and apply here. 

Other support and payments

For more information on the 2021 COVID-19 Support Package click here.

Support for individuals impacted by the current COVID-19 restrictions and stay-at-home orders is also available through Services Australia. 

Find out about help for small business including requesting a call from a Business Concierge. The COVID-19 Safety plan is required to keep your business on track with compliance, and if relevant, take a look at the Jobs Plus program. 

General support is also available including telephone with translated services.

Keep up to date with NSW government COVID-19 updates.

For mental health and wellbeing refer to the recommended resources and organisations for support.

A jointly funded package of $2.27 billion by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments to help support thousands of small and medium-sized businesses was announced on Thursday 30 September.  The financial assistance consists of automatic payments: 

Business Costs Assistance Program: ranging from $1,000 to $8,400 per week until the end of October. Businesses that remain closed or restricted over the first two weeks of November will continue to receive payments for that period. 

Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund: between $5,000 and $20,000 per week until the end of October. 

See below for further details on these programs. 

Previous announcement – Saturday 4 September 

A $2.34 billion jointly funded package by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments will provide extended financial assistance to many businesses in Victoria. The statewide lockdown has been confirmed to continue until 70% of Victorians have had at least one dose of the vaccine – estimated to be around 23 September. The business support payments will cover a four-week period ending on Thursday 30 September.

Small Business COVID Hardship Fund – applications open till 10 September / automatic payment for previous recipients

The extra allocation of funding means the grant amount has increased from $14,000 to $20,000.  Businesses that have already received the one-off payment will receive an automatic top-up payment of $6,000.

The fund is available to small- and medium-sized eligible businesses across Victoria that have not qualified for existing support programs and have experienced a reduction in revenue by at least 70%.

Businesses that are legally allowed to operate but have been unable to generate revenue due to restrictions, for example a cafe located within a gym or a manufacturer unable to supply goods to businesses forced to shut, may be eligible for funding. Likewise, businesses that have lost customers due to a lack of foot traffic, for example pharmacists located in the CBD, could also be eligible. Applications are via Business Victoria.

Business Costs Assistance Program – automatic payment

Businesses in metropolitan Melbourne who previously received or are approved to receive the Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two or Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two July Extension grant, will automatically receive payments.  

• $2,800 a week for businesses with an annual payroll below $650,000
• $5,600 a week for businesses with an annual payroll between $650,000 and less than $3 million
• $8,400 for businesses with an annual payroll of $3 million to $10 million.  

The program aims to allow businesses across multiple sectors to continue paying overheads and other costs despite impacts on revenue.

Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 – automatic payment

Automatic payments of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,0000 will be made to cover a four-week period ending on Thursday 30 September to more than 9,300 licensed hospitality venues that have previously received or been approved grants for this funding.

Payment amounts are based on tiers according to premises capacity:

• $5,000 – capacity of up to 99 patrons
• $10,000 – capacity of 100 to 499 patrons
• $20,000 – capacity of 500-plus. 

Find out more on these business programs and funding.  

Alpine Business Support Program – automatic payment

A support package to help sustain resorts through the remainder of the ski season and September school holidays with an automatic top-up payment of between $10,000 and $40,000, depending on business location and whether the business employs staff.

Previous support

Business Continuity Fund

A $156 million Business Continuity Fund will be established to deliver $5,000 grants to up to about 30,000 businesses that remain impacted by capacity limits placed on businesses by necessary public health restrictions.

Twenty-four eligible sectors are covered by the fund including gyms, cafes, restaurants, catering services and hairdressers.

Businesses located in the CBD will continue to be impacted due to restrictions on the number of staff allowed in office buildings and will be eligible to receive an additional $2,000, recognising reduced foot traffic due to office density limits.

All recipients must have received or been eligible for the previous Business Cost Assistance Program.

Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme and Landlord Hardship Fund

The package, fully-funded by the Victorian government, will deliver $80 million to provide support to landlords that provide rent relief to their tenants.

The Commercial Tenancies Relief Scheme has been reinstated to provide much-needed rent relief to small to medium commercial tenants and their landlords. For details contact the Victorian Small Business Commission on 13 87 22.  

Other support

The Victorian government is offering a range of ways to help businesses impacted by COVID-19.  Learn about financial support for businesses and workers.  

Find details about the Circuit Breaker Business Support Package announced in May 2021.

Discover other support available if you’re unable to operate your business due to restrictions. 

If you prefer to talk to someone, the COVID-19 business support provides a hotline or you can leave your contact details for a return call. A language translation service is also available.

COVID-19 business information has links on restrictions and recovery support to help you plan and respond to the ever-changing landscape.  

Your mental health and wellbeing are important. Discover support available to you. 

2021 COVID-19 Business Support Grant

A joint Queensland and Australian government support package is available to eligible businesses impacted by lockdowns. 

Packages include: 

• $10,000 grant to employing small businesses and not-for-profit organisations (annual payroll less than $1.3 million)
• $15,000 grant to employing medium-sized businesses and not-for-profit organisations (annual payroll between $1.3 million and $10 million)
• $30,000 grant to employing large-sized tourism and hospitality focused businesses and not-for-profit organisations (annual payroll more than $10 million).

Applications for grants for employing businesses close 16 November 2021. Read more on eligibility and application details.

For non-employing sole traders

A $1,000 one-off grant is available to eligible Queensland-based non-employing sole traders who have experienced a decline in turnover of more than 30% due to the South East Queensland lockdown (that commenced 31 July 2021) or the Cairns and Yarrabah lockdown (that commenced 8 August 2021).

Applications close 30 November 2021. Find out more or apply soon. 

Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Grant

Grants of up to $100,000 are available for eligible tourism and hospitality operators facing significant financial hardship as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions and interstate lockdowns. 

Eligible businesses and non-profit organisations who have applied for or received the COVID-19 Business Support Grant and/or COVID-19 Border Business Zone Hardship Grant can also apply. 

Support available: 

• Two payments of $15,000 to employing small tourism and hospitality businesses/non-profit organisations (annual payroll less than $1.3 million)
• Two payments of $25,000 to employing medium tourism and hospitality businesses/non-profit organisations (annual payroll between $1.3 million and $10 million)
• Two payments of $50,000 to employing large tourism and hospitality businesses/non-profit organisations (annual payroll more than $10 million).

Applications close 6pm Monday 22 November 2021. Find out more here. 

COVID-19 Business Support Grant – extension

Joint funding support by the ACT and federal governments will provide an additional COVID-19 Business Grant Extension payment of $10,000 for employing businesses and $3,750 for non-employing businesses that are still impacted by restrictions.  

This will be paid to all businesses who were eligible for the COVID-19 Business Support Grant who have already received $20,000 (employing businesses) or $7,500 (non-employing businesses). 

In addition, a top-up payment will be made for larger businesses: 

• $10,000 for employing businesses – turnover greater than $2 million, less than $5 million
• $20,000 for employing businesses – turnover greater than $5 million, less than $10 million
• $30,000 for employing businesses – turnover greater than $10 million. 

More information on the grant is available for employing businesses and non-employing businesses. 

COVID-19 Tourism, Accommodation Provider, Arts, Events, Hospitality and Fitness Grants 

The grants program has been expanded and offers: 

• $5,000 for non-employing businesses
• $8,000 for employing businesses – turnover less than $2 million
• $15,000 for employing businesses – turnover greater than $2 million and less than $5 million
• $25,000 for employing businesses – turnover greater than $5 million.

More information will be available in October. 

COVID-19 Small Business Hardship Scheme 

Eligible small businesses may apply to receive credits for payroll tax, utility charges, rates and other selected fees and charges up to a maximum of $10,000 per ABN. The scheme is for small businesses with an annual turnover between $30,000 and $10 million that have experienced a 30% loss in revenue. Read more here. 

The South Australian government has announced a Business Support Grant of $3,000 will be available to eligible small and medium businesses that suffer significant loss of income due to the lockdown, and $1,000 to eligible sole traders. Register your interest for the Business Support Grant.  

COVID-19 business information and support has a wealth of information including financial support for South Australian businesses, ways to support staff and practical advice and tips.

It’s important to look after your mental health and wellbeing. Please access the programs and resources available to you and stay safe. 

The Tasmanian and Australian governments will pump $20 million for businesses struggling with the ongoing impacts due to border closures.

The package is targeted at businesses operating in tourism, hospitality, arts and events, seafood and transport sectors and others directly impacted by reduced interstate travel.

Financial support of between $2,000 and $10,000 will be available to eligible businesses that have experienced a 30% decline in turnover.  Click here for details.