The announcement yesterday resulted in clients requesting information on their eligibility.
Unfortunately all of the details of these measures have not been released so we are unable at the moment to completely advise you on:
- All the eligibility criteria.
- The actual application process.
We will in due course.
Here is what I can see, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced
1. An increase to the emergency disaster payment from:
- $325 to $375 for people who have lost up to 20 hours of work,
- $500 to $600 for people who have lost more than 20 hours of work due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.
- eligibility criteria has been broadened to include all residents of NSW.
- The payment will be made available to NSW individuals outside Commonwealth-declared hotspots in Sydney if they have lost hours and satisfy the eligibility criteria.
- The payment will be a recurring payment for approved recipients for as long as the Commonwealth-declared hotspot and lockdown restrictions remain in place. This will remove the need for recipients to re-claim for each seven-day period of a lockdown.
2. New business support payments of between $1,500 and $10,000 a week based on the level of their payroll, to businesses that:
- Can demonstrate a 30 per cent decline in turnover. Compared to the equivalent two-week period in 2019.
- With an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million.
- You must maintain current staffing levels i.e. to receive the payment, entities will be required to maintain their full time, part time and long term casual staffing level as of 13 July.
- Will be paid to a maximum of 40 per cent of a business’s payroll.
- Available to non-employing and employing entities in NSW, including not for profits. Non-employing businesses, such as sole traders, will see the payment capped at $1,000 each week.
- Starts in week four and it will go for as long as the lockdown.
- The payments will be administered by Service NSW, with registrations of interest to open on Wednesday, 14 July.
Funded by both the Commonwealth and State government the new support package will apply to any state or territory that experiences a protracted lockdown.
ALSO from the NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced:
3. Expanded business grants, payroll support, tax relief:
- Eligible businesses with wages below $10 million can claim grants between $7,500 and $15,000 to cover the first three weeks of restrictions.
- A new $1,500 per fortnight payment for micro-businesses with a turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000 which experience a decline in turnover of 30 per cent.
- Payroll tax waivers of 25 per cent for businesses with wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million that have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover.
- A capped grant of up to $1,500 for residential landlords who are not liable to pay land tax who reduce rent for tenants estimated at $210 million.
- Land tax relief equal to the value of rent reductions provided by commercial, retail and residential landlords to financially distressed tenants, up to 100 per cent of the 2021 land tax year liability.
- A short-term eviction moratorium for rental arrears where a residential tenant suffers loss of income of 25 per cent due to COVID-19 and meets a range of criteria.
The full eligibility criteria for both the business and individual support measures are currently being developed by Service NSW and Services Australia, with the information provided above current as of 13 July.
We will keep you posted
General Advice warning: the information in this article is general in nature, it is not advice specific to your needs. If you want to act upon the information in this article then you should seek advice from a qualified professional. VJC WM accepts no liability to any party for acting from this information unless they have sought advice in a formal engagement with VJC WM for this purpose.
