Thousands of small businesses across NSW struggling to cope with the COVID-19 shutdown will receive grants of up to $10,000 under a new assistance scheme announced today by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Finance and Small Business Damien Tudehope.

The NSW Government will put $750 million into the Small Business Support Fund as the centrepiece of a third wave of support measures to keep small businesses afloat.

The fund was designed to provide help fast and benefit tens of thousands of business across NSW. The application process has been made easy to ensure small businesses receive some cash-flow as soon as possible.

High Impacted Industries

Eligible industries are those that have been subject to closure or are highly impacted by NSW Government health directions in relation to COVID-19 and include:

• Retail trade

• Accommodation and food service

• Rental, hiring and real estate services

• Administrative and support services

• Arts and recreation services

To be eligible, businesses will need to:

• Have between 1-19 employees and a turnover of more than $75,000;

• A payroll below the NSW Government 2019-20 payroll tax threshold of $900,000;

• Have an Australian Business Number as at 1 March 2020, be based in NSW and employ staff as at 1 March 2020;

• Be highly impacted by the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 issued on 30 March 2020 resulting in at least a 75% decline in turnover compared to the same two week period in 2019;

• Use the funding for unavoidable business costs such as utilities, overheads, legal costs and financial advice;

• Provide appropriate documentation upon application.

Applications for a small business grant of up to $10,000 are available through Service NSW website and remain open until 1 June 2020.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our partners (Mark, Greg and Justin) or our tax director (Melanie).