LUKA GROUP SUMMARY ON GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO HELP BUSINESSES
Eligible businesses can apply for assistance with the NSW & Federal Government if they have been affected by Coronavirus. At Luka Group we have prepared a summary below on some of the major assistance available to businesses. Please see below for more details:
$10,000 NSW SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
To be eligible business will need to:
Be based in NSW.
Be a small business.
Be registered with an ABN as at 1 March 2020.
Have an annual turnover of more than $75,000 (a Business Activity Statement must be provided as evidence).
Employ 1-19 full-time workers as at 1 March 2020.
Be able to report a payroll below the NSW 2019-2020 payroll tax threshold of $900,000.
Have been highly impacted by Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 effective on 31 March 2020.
Have experienced at least 75% decline in turnover compared to the same two-week period in 2019, as a result of COVID-19.
Have unavoidable business costs not otherwise the subject of other NSW and Commonwealth Government financial assistance measures.
For more information or to apply follow this link: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-small-business-covid-19-support-grant
JOBKEEPER PAYMENTS
The JobKeeper payment is open to eligible employers, sole traders and other entities to enable them to pay their eligible employee’s salary or wages of at least $1,500 (before tax) per fortnight.
Eligible employers will be reimbursed a fixed amount of $1,500 per fortnight for each eligible employee.
Employers need to pay all eligible employees a minimum of $1,500 (before tax) per fortnight to claim the JobKeeper payment. This will be paid to the employer in arrears each month by the ATO. The first payments to eligible employers will commence in the first week of May 2020. JobKeeper payments can be made for the period beginning 30 March 2020.
If employers do not continue to pay their employees for each pay period, they will cease to qualify for the JobKeeper payment.
For more information please follow this link: https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/
CASH FLOW BOOSTER
Cash flow support for small and medium businesses and not-for-profit organisations is available for business that:
Employ staff
Have been affected by the economic downturn associated with COVID-19.
Eligible businesses and not-for-profit (NFP) organisations will receive between $20,000 to $100,000 in cash flow boost amounts by lodging their activity statements up to the month or quarter of September 2020.
The cash flow boosts will be delivered as credits in the activity statement system from 28 April 2020. The amounts will generally be equivalent to the amount withheld from wages paid to employees in the March to June 2020 periods. In practice, this means you keep the amounts you have withheld from payments for these periods, however, there are some exceptions.
An additional cash flow boost will be applied when activity statements are lodged for June to September 2020. These credits are equal to the total boosts credited for March to June 2020. They will be paid out in either two or four instalments depending on your reporting cycle.
To be eligible BAS’s must be up to date and payments will be made based on the wage figures reported in your BAS’s.
For more information please follow this link: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Business-activity-statements-(BAS)/In-detail/Boosting-cash-flow-for-employers/
SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES WITH APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES
The Australian Government has released a subsidy for businesses to help keep apprentices and trainees employed throughout the Coronavirus crisis, details are:
50 percent subsidy for wages paid to apprentices.
Wage subsidies will be available to small businesses, including those using a Group Training Organisation, to help retain existing apprentices and trainees.
Employers of any size who re-engage an apprentice or trainee that has been displaced from a small business may also attract a wage subsidy.
The apprentice or trainee must have been in-training with a small business as at 1 March 2020.
Subsidies will cover wages paid from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Businesses will be reimbursed up to $7,000 per quarter, up to a maximum of $21,000, per eligible apprentice or trainee. Final claims for payment must be lodged by 31 December 2020.
For more information please follow this link: https://www.employment.gov.au/supporting-apprentices-and-trainees?fbclid=IwAR3iVCqiQ2IrXMfo3EuyknwUKnUSfB9eUMC6rwLrroYQOZPl8Pk7vUWvyqE
CONCLUSION
Whilst the stimulus mentioned in this summary only includes the major stimulus announcements, we welcome our clients to contact us to review their individual circumstances. At Luka Group we recommend that you contact us when reviewing your eligibility for any applications you do. It is important that the correct application processes are carried out to ensure that eligibility requirements are fully met before applying for assistance to avoid having to repay any assistance received.
For assistance please contact our office on (02) 68832200.