Covid-19 support Tag

Additional financial support for child care providers

The Prime Minister and the Minister for Education and Youth recently announced new support measures for child care providers that are impacted by extended COVID-19 lockdowns.

Child care services in Commonwealth-declared hotspots will be eligible for new fortnightly payments of 25% of their pre-lockdown revenue, and outside school hours care (OSHC) services will be eligible for fortnightly payments of 40% of pre-lockdown revenue.

This measure will apply to services seven days after the hotspot is declared, where state and territory governments have directed families to keep their children at home. Where children are still allowed to attend child care, the supports will kick in four weeks after the hotspot declaration.

The new payments will immediately benefit services in affected areas of Sydney, the ACT and Melbourne. Other services will become eligible after seven days of lockdown, with payments backdated to 23 August. The support will then be available for services that meet the criteria in any future extended lockdowns.

Payments are made available directly to providers. Families in affected areas are not required to do anything.

Australian Capital Territory

Expanded and additional support will be available for businesses affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, in the form of two grant programs:

  • COVID-19 Business Support Grants: An additional COVID-19 Business Grant Extension payment of $10,000 for employing businesses and $3,750 for non-employing businesses will be available to businesses eligible for the existing Business Support Grants and in industries “still significantly impacted by the health restrictions”.
  • COVID-19 Tourism, Accommodation Provider, Arts and Events and Hospitality Grants: Further one-off grants will be available in October to eligible businesses in the tourism, accommodation provider, arts and events and hospitality industries.

Queensland

Federal and state funded emergency support packages worth $52.8 million will be available to assist Queensland businesses suffering due to the NSW–Queensland border restrictions, and to provide targeted support to tourism and hospitality businesses facing significant hardship. These special hardship grants will be available from mid-October.

South Australia

The COVID-19 Tourism and Hospitality Support Grant will be available for businesses in eligible tourism and hospitality sectors, and other sectors such as performing arts, creative artists, taxis and car rental, that have already received the COVID-19 Additional Business Support Grant.

There is also a new COVID-19 Business Hardship Grant for certain employing businesses that haven’t been eligible for previous business grant support since July 2021.

In addition, the SA government is increasing its Major Events Support Grant, to provide up to $100,000 for large cancelled or postponed events where more than 10,000 attendees were expected.

Tasmania

The existing Business Support Package will be boosted from $20 million to $50 million, with grants of up to $50,000 available to eligible businesses across two funding rounds.

In addition, the Tasmanian government will offer eligible tourism and hospitality industry businesses payroll tax relief, waived vehicle registration and passenger transport accreditation fees and waived Parks & Wildlife license fees. Businesses can apply immediately.

Victoria

New regulations have been made to provide relief under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme for small and medium-sized commercial tenants struggling with rent payments. Eligibility has been broadened, and businesses will get relief in the form of a rent reduction proportionate to the amount of turnover lost due to COVID-19.

The Victorian Small Business Commission will provide information so that landlords and tenants can negotiate an agreement, and free mediation for those who need assistance.

Land tax relief will be available to help landlords that are doing the right thing by eligible tenants, and eligible small landlords can apply for payments from a $20 million hardship fund.

Western Australia

WA tourism businesses impacted by COVID-19 will soon be able to apply for funding support under a new joint Commonwealth–State program. About 3,500 businesses will be eligible for grants of up to $10,000, including tourism operators, accommodation providers and travel agents.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on 3 August 2020 a Federal Government “pandemic leave disaster payment”. The payment will be a one-off amount of $1,500, available to workers in Victoria who have no sick leave available who have to self-isolate for 14 days as a result of an instruction by a public health officer.

It will only apply to workers in Victoria, where the Government has declared a “state of disaster” and imposed Stage 4 lockdowns, which are expected at this point to run until mid-September.

The Victorian Government has already announced that it will provide a disaster payment, principally made to those on short-term visas; that is, those who are not permanent residents or citizens of Australia who otherwise wouldn’t have accessed Commonwealth payments. The Federal Government will provide its payment to those who fall outside that scope and who don’t have leave available to them because it has been used up.

Accessing the Federal Government payment

Services Australia has provided further details on its website. It states that, to get this payment, the applicant must:

  • be at least 17 years old;
  • live in Victoria; and
  • have no income from paid work, including sick leave entitlements.

In addition, the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services must also have told the applicant to self-isolate or quarantine. They must have done this because the applicant:

  • has COVID-19;
  • has been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19;
  • cares for a child, aged 16 years and under, who has COVID-19; and/or
  • cares for a child, aged 16 years and under, who has been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19.

If a person has to self-isolate more than once, they can claim this payment each time. However, a person cannot get this payment if they already receive:

  • an income support payment, ABSTUDY Living Allowance, Paid Parental Leave or Dad and Partner Pay;
  • the JobKeeper payment; or
  • the Victorian Coronavirus (COVID-19) Worker Support Payment.

Coronavirus Worker Supplement Payment (Victoria)

The Victorian Government announced its Coronavirus Worker Supplement Payment on 30 July. To be eligible for a one-off $1,500 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Worker Support payment, the claimant must have been instructed by the Department of Health and Human Services:

  • to self-isolate or quarantine at home because they are either diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) or are a close contact of a confirmed case; or
  • that a child aged under 16 in the claimant’s care needs to self-isolate or quarantine at home because they are either diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) or are a close contact of a confirmed case.

To receive the payment, the claimant must:

  • be 17 years and over;
  • be currently living in Victoria (including people on Temporary Protection Visas and Temporary Working Visas 457 and 482);
  • be likely to have worked during the period of self-isolation or quarantine and are unable to work as a result of the requirement to stay at home;
  • not be receiving any income, earnings or salary maintenance from work;
  • have exhausted sick leave entitlements, including any special pandemic leave; and
  • not be receiving the JobKeeper payment or other forms of Australian Government income support.

There is no requirement for a claimant to be a citizen or permanent resident to be eligible for the Victorian Government payment.