The NSW government has announced a $1 billion support package for New South Wales businesses affected by Covid-19.
By considering the difficulty that businesses have experienced, the NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has released a $1 billion support package to support those businesses affected by Covid-19 over January and February 2022.
The NSW Treasurer said while releasing the package that at the moment, household balance sheets are strong, when they recover from the pandemic, they expect the economy will become better.
The NSW Small Business Support Package
The NSW Small Business Support Package offers eligible employing businesses with fixed payments of 20% of weekly payroll, up to $5,000 per week for February 2022. $750 per week is the minimum weekly payment for employers. On the other hand, eligible non-employing businesses will get $500 per week.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the support package, businesses must:
- Have a total annual turnover that must be between $75,000 and $50 million for the year ended June 30, 2021
- Experienced a greater drop in turnover of 40% because of Public Health Orders or Covid-19 pandemic during January 2022 as compared to January 2021 or January 2020
- Experienced a greater drop in turnover of 40% or over 40% from 1 to 14 February 2022 as compared to the same fortnight in either 2021 or 2020
- Manage their employee headcount from ‘the date when the announcement was made’ (30 January 2022)
The application for the support package is expected to open in mid-February.
Increased Fees and Charges Rebate and Extended to RAT Tests
The NSW small businesses fees and charges rebates have been maximised from $2,000 to $3,000. Additionally, fees and charges rebates have also been extended to cover the cost of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) by 50%. The RAT rebate will be available by March, and it will not cover RAT tests bought previously to the funding coming online to avoid pressures on the RAT test supply chain.
The rebate is a digital credit that businesses may use to offset the cost of qualified NSW and local government fees and charges. Keep one thing in mind that there is an existing $5,000 Alfresco Restart rebate for small and medium food and beverage businesses wanting to expand or develop their outdoor dining area. By the end of April 2022, the applications for this rebate are open.
Eligibility
Small businesses, sole traders, and not-for-profits are eligible for fees and charges rebates that have:
- Sum of Australian wages less than the NSW Government 2020-21 payroll tax threshold ($1.2 million)
- An ABN registered in NSW and/or have a business situated and operating in NSW
Businesses that have already registered will get an automatic top-up of $1,000 and businesses that are newly registered will get a rebate of $3,000. For each ABN, one rebate is available.
Extended Relief for Commercial Landlords
Commercial landlord relief has been extended until 13 March 2022. The Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021 prevents certain actions by landlords unless they renegotiated rent with qualified tenants.
The grant offers up to $3,000/month (GST inclusive), per property for applicable landlords that have offered rental waivers to impacted tenants. Rent waived must include half of any rental reduction given. The rest of the portion may be a rental deferral. The grant will not be applicable to rent deferrals.
Extension to the NSW Performing Arts Package
The current NSW Performing Arts COVID Support Package has been extended until April 2022.
Eligibility
You must be one of the following to be eligible for funding:
- Applicable venue
- A producer of qualified performance planned to perform at one of the applicable venues
- A promoter of qualified performance planned to perform at one of the eligible venues
