New financial supports for Covid-19 announced

The Government has released a new targeted COVID-19 support scheme to help businesses.

Covid Support Payment

A new COVID-19 Support Payment of a maximum of $24,000 will be made available for businesses struggling with a business downturn during the Omicron outbreak.

Each COVID-19 Support Payment will be $4,000 per business plus $400 per full-time employee (FTE), capped at 50 FTEs or $24,000. This is the same rate as the most recent Transition Payment which the Government rolled out in December.

Businesses will have to show a 40% drop in 7 consecutive days within the 6 weeks prior to the shift to Phase 2 of the Omicron response on 15 February, compared to 7 days after that date.

Applications for the first payment open on 28 February 2022 with payments starting from 1 March.

Small Business Cashflow Loans Scheme

There will also be changes to the Small Business Cashflow Loans Scheme to increase the amount of funding available to eligible businesses by introducing a “top-up” loan. The top-up loan will allow those firms that have already accessed a loan to draw down an additional $10,000 with a new repayment period of five years and the first two years being interest-free.

Talk to us if you need any help applying for the above financial assistance.