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Update 13 August


The following document provides a snapshot of some of the most recently announced COVID19 economic assistance packages that have been made available in New South Wales (‘NSW’), Victoria (‘VIC’), South Australia (‘SA’), Queensland (‘QLD’), Western Australia (‘WA’) and the Northern Territory (‘NT’) in response to the recent lockdowns and restrictions (at 10 August 2021).

Importantly, JobKeeper ended on 28 March 2021 and has not been reinstated at this time.

COMMONWEALTH COVID 19 DISASTER PAYMENT

The COVID-19 Disaster Payment was originally announced on 3 June 2021 in response to the May/June 2021 Victorian lockdown (and made applicable to future Commonwealth declared hotspots such as in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia). Its primary aim is to provide weekly assistance to eligible individuals (i.e., eligible full time, part time and casual workers) who have lost hours of paid work due to state imposed health restrictions.

Both the eligibility criteria and the value of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment have been moving targets as it has been applied to subsequent COVID-19 hotspots and the resulting public health orders. How much of the Disaster Payment an individual receives will depend upon factors such as the location of the applicable health order, the period the individual is claiming for and the hours of work they lost. Refer to the Services Australia website for more guidance.

Under the current version of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment, eligible recipients generally receive:

  • $750 each week if a person has lost 20 hours or more of work a week (increased from previous amounts of initially $500 and later $600); or

  • $450 each week if a person has lost between 8 and 20 hours of work, or a full day of their usual work if less than eight hours (increased from previous amounts of initially $325 and later $375).

Furthermore, recipients of Federal Government income support payments (e.g., JobSeeker, Austudy, the Age pension, etc.) or the ABSTUDY living or education allowances who have broadly lost at least eight hours of work (or a full day of their usual work of less than eight hours) in a week may be eligible for a varied COVID-19 Disaster Payment of $200 per week.

Sole traders may also be eligible for the Disaster Payment, however they are advised to first check to see if they are eligible for any State or Territory COVID-19 business support payments. This is because they can generally only be eligible for either the COVID-19 Disaster Payment or a State or Territory business support payment for a relevant period (but not both).

To make a claim, most individuals will do this directly online via their myGov account that needs to be linked to their Centrelink Online account. Working visa holders may also be eligible, however, to claim they will need to call Services Australia on 180 22 66.

NSW COVID 19 ECONOMIC SUPPORT MEASURES

Refer also to the NSW ‘Grants, loans and financial assistance’ for further detail on all available NSW Government COVID-19 business assistance.

VIC COVID 19 ECONOMIC SUPPORT MEASURES

Refer also to the Business Victoria ‘Grants and programs’ for further detail on all available VIC Government COVID-19 business assistance.

SA COVID 19 ECONOMIC SUPPORT MEASURES

More information can be found at the SA Department of Treasury and Finance here.

QLD COVID 19 ECONOMIC SUPPORT MEASURES

Refer to the Business Queensland Coronavirus COVID-19 business assistance finder for further detail on all QLD Government COVID-19 financial assistance.

WA COVID 19 ECONOMIC SUPPORT MEASURES

More information is available via the WA Small business development corporation.

NT COVID 19 ECONOMIC SUPPORT MEASURES

More information is available via the NT’s Business grants and funding NT.GOV.AU page.


Source and credit: NTAA.com.au

If you wish to arrange a telephone appointment or zoom meeting with one of our team please contact our office either by telephone or email.

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