State Government – More Financial Support Announced

Last week the State Government expanded the Business Support Fund to provide a $5,000 grant for eligible businesses in the Stage 3 restriction area.  This is in addition to the $10,000 that was provided in the first wave of the pandemic. 

To register for the $5,000 visit the Business Victoria Website.

The key eligibility criteria for the $5000 Business Support Fund is that businesses must:

1. Operate a business with an address located in one of the 31 metropolitan Melbourne LGAs and Mitchell Shire subject to the return to Stage 3 ‘Stay at Home’ restrictions; and

2. Be a participant in the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper Payment scheme;

3. Employ people and be registered with WorkSafe on 30 June 2020; and

4. Have an annual payroll of less than $3 million in 2019-20 on an ungrouped basis; and

5. Be registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 30 June 2020; and

6. Hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 30 June 2020; and

7. Be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator.
   

Additionally, owners of businesses that do not employ people (non-employing businesses) are not eligible for funding through this grant.

While this criteria will exclude many small and home-based businesses, it does ensure that support is targeted more towards businesses that have overhead costs for the business that will otherwise be unrecoverable. 

A number of additions to the Support Package are sure to be of benefit to businesses in the City of Melton:

• A $30 million dedicated fund for Victoria’s night time economy to support the hardest hit businesses in hospitality. 

• $26 million in mental health support will ensure Victorians dealing with the compounding challenges of running a small business can get the support they need as they navigate their way through the crisis. 

• A $10 million business mentoring program, pairing small business owners with experienced professionals who can help them navigate their way through the crisis.

While more details are still to be announced on how the night time economy, mental health support, and business mentoring program will be announced you can find more information and register for the relevant programs here on the Business Victoria website.