COVID-19 lockdown support: NSW and Victoria

With more and more States going into lockdown to slow the spread of the Delta strain, many businesses and individuals will be feeling the financial pressure from losing sales and work hours. Both the Federal and State governments of NSW and Victoria have stepped in with support packages to help their residents weather the latest storm.

Federal support

For small and medium businesses, depending on the length of the lockdown, the federal government will fund up to 50% of small and medium business support payments to be administered by the States. For example, under the scheme, eligible entities in NSW will receive 40% of their NSW payroll payments at a minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $10,000 per week if their turnover decreases by 30% from an equivalent 2-week period in 2019.

Businesses will need to have an annual turnover of between $75,000 and $50m. Non-employing businesses (eg sole traders) will also be eligible, however, the maximum payment will be set at $1,000 per week. In order to receive the payment, businesses will be required to maintain their full-time, part-time, and long-term casual staffing level as of 13 July 2021.

This business support payment was not initially announced as a part of the Victorian support package, however, according to the Federal government, should the Victorian lockdown be extended, additional features of the upgraded and revised economic support arrangements proposed will be activated by agreement.

NSW

Eligible businesses with annual wages up to $10m will be able to claim grants between $7,500 and $15,000 under the business grants program. Smaller and micro-businesses with a turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000 that experience a decline in turnover of 30% will be eligible for $1,500 payment per fortnight of restrictions.

Payroll tax waivers of 25% will be available for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2m and $10m and have experienced a 30% decline in turnover. In addition, payroll tax deferrals and interest-free payment plans will also be available.

Commercial, retail and residential landlords who provide rental relief to financially distressed tenants will be able to claim land tax relief equal to the value of rent deductions up to a maximum of 100% of the 2021 land tax liability. Residential landlords that are not liable for land tax may be able to claim a capped grant of up to $1,500 where they reduce rent for tenants. Eligible tenants will also be protected with a short-term eviction moratorium. There will also be no recovery of security bonds, lockouts, or evictions of impacted retail/commercial tenants prior to mediation.

Victoria

Businesses in Victoria will be provided with cash grants from the State government. These payments will be automatically made to eligible businesses and sole traders to minimize delays. The State government estimates that up to 90,000 businesses that previously received assistance payments in relation to previous lockdowns will receive the new cash grant of $3,000 for licensed hospitality venues and $2,000 for other businesses.