COVID-19 RELATED SUPPORT MEASURES FOR CLUBS, EMPLOYEES & PARTICIPANTS

FOR CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS – NATIONALLY

• Cash for clubs who employ staff
  • Eligibility:
    • employ staff and withhold tax on wages;
    • businesses with a turnover of less than $50M – includes Not-For-Profits;
    • active employers prior to March 12.
  • Businesses can receive two payments of a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $50,000 from April 28.
  • More details can be found at: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet-Cash_flow_assistance_for_businesses_0.pdf
  • Included in the above fact sheet are details about how apprentices (such as apprentice greenkeepers) can get a 50% wage subsidy for nine months, up to $21,000 in total.

• Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses
  • There is a temporary increase in the threshold (from $2,000 to $20,000) at which creditors can issue a statutory demand on a business and the time companies have to respond to statutory demands they receive (from 21 days to six months).
  • There is temporary relief for directors from any personal liability for businesses trading while insolvent – this will apply for six months.
  • More details can be found at: https://www.business.gov.au/risk-management/emergency-management/coronavirus-information-and-support-for-business/temporary-relief-for-financially-distressed-businesses

• Loan guarantee scheme & relaxation of lending
  • Eligibility:
    • businesses with a turnover of less than $50M – includes Not-For-Profits.
    • The Government will provide a guarantee of 50% for new unsecured loans to be used for working capital.
    • Loans of up to $250,000 for up to three years, with a pause on repayments for six months – to commence by early April.
    • More details can be found at: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet-Supporting_the_flow_of_credit_1.pdf
    • The Government is also providing an exemption from responsible lending obligations for lenders providing credit to existing small business customers. This exemption is for six months, and applies to any credit for business purposes, including new credit, credit limit increases and credit variations and restructures.

 

• Payroll tax relief
  • Immediate payroll tax refunds of $740M for COVID-19 affected businesses.
  • Payroll tax returns for all businesses have been deferred until July 31, 2020.
  • A payroll tax holiday and deferral until the end of 2020 for eligible businesses.
  • All small and medium businesses (payroll up to $6.5M) will be eligible for:
    • A two-month refund of payroll tax, giving an average of nearly $9,000 cash;
    • A three-month payroll tax holiday (no payroll tax to be paid), saving an average of $13,360;
    • In addition, businesses will be able to apply to defer all payroll tax payments for the rest of 2020.
  • Businesses can apply via this link: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/employing/payroll-tax/lodging/coronavirus-tax-relief

• Power costs
  • $500 rebate on electricity bills for all Queensland small and medium sized businesses that consume less than 100,000kW hours. This will be automatically applied to electricity bills.

• Liquor licensing
  • Waived for business impacted by enforced safety industry shutdowns.

• Loan Facility
  • A loan facility of at least $500M, interest-free for the first 12 months, is being created to support Queensland businesses impacted by COVID-19 to retain employees and maintain operations. The concessional loan facility comprises low-interest loans of up to $250,000 with an initial 12-month interest-free period for businesses to retain staff.

• Impact form to complete
  • Clubs/Associations should take the time to complete the form below to provide details on how the COVID-19 shutdowns have affected their business – the form can be found here: https://forms.office.com/FormsPro/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=sAmvAfH7kUOR8Gqe1zGoJZZDKN9KhxpJsD3KeiTrjV1UMEsxUUhZRk82Rkg4QTE3RUFaTzREM1dPVS4u

FOR EMPLOYEES & PARTICIPANTS – QUEENSLAND

• Utility costs
  • $200 rebate for all 2.1M Queensland households (including the $50 Asset Ownership Dividend already announced) to offset the cost of water and electricity bills – to be automatically applied through household electricity bills.

FOR CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

• Payroll tax waived
  • Six waiver for all businesses with an annual payroll of up to $4M – eligible businesses won’t have to pay any payroll tax from April to September.

• Liquor licence fees waived
  • Waiver of liquor licence fees for 2020-21 for hotels, restaurants, cafes and clubs forced to close as a result of new social distancing restrictions.

• Land tax relief
  • Individuals and businesses with outstanding quarterly bills for 2019-20 able to defer payments for six months.

• Community and jobs fund
  • A $250M fund to support community organisations, sporting, arts and recreational bodies, non-profit organisations as well as some industry sectors whose operations have been impacted by the coronavirus

FOR EMPLOYEES, PARTICIPANTS – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

• Cost of living concession
  • A once-off boost of $500 and bring forward the 2020-21 ‘Cost of Living Concession’ for households who are receiving the Centrelink JobSeeker Payment, assisting those who are unemployed or lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus restrictions.

FOR CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

• Payroll tax waived
  • Businesses with a payroll of between $1M and $4M will receive a one-off grant of $17,500. Eligible businesses will be able to apply to defer their 2019-2020 payroll tax payment.
  • $200 rebate for all 2.1M Queensland households (including the $50 Asset Ownership Dividend already announced) to offset the cost of water and electricity bills – to be automatically applied through household electricity bills.
  • The payroll tax threshold will be increased to $1M from July 1, 2020, six months earlier than planned.

FOR EMPLOYEES & PARTICIPANTS – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

• Household fees and charges
  • All increases, fees and charges will be frozen until at least July 2021. This includes utilities, public transport fares, motor vehicle charges.

• Power costs
  • The Energy Assistance Package (EAP) in 2020-21 will be doubled to provide additional support to vulnerable Western Australians. The payment will increase from $300 to $600 for eligible concession card-holders.

FOR CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS – TASMANIA

• Payroll tax waived
  • Payroll tax returns for all businesses have been deferred until July 31, 2020.
  • The Government will extend the previously announced Payroll tax waivers for the hospitality, tourism and seafood sectors with payrolls less than $5M which have been impacted by coronavirus to ensure that these businesses will pay no payroll taxes for the entire 2019-20 year. This measure will be delivered through a combination of payroll tax refunds and waivers
  • Youth employment scheme – provides a payroll tax rebate for one year, to businesses that employ a young person aged 24 and under, between April and December 2020.

• Interest-free business loans
  • For businesses with a turnover of less than $5M, interest-free for three years.

• Grants
  • The Government will provide $2M for a grants program to support the ongoing viability and operation of sporting clubs and associations impacted by COVID-19 closures.

• Liquor licensing
  • 50% discount on liquor licencing fees and a waiver of all application fees for the calendar year 2020, backdated to 1 January 2020.

• Utility costs
  • Water and electricity bills will be waived for the first quarterly bill received after 1 April this year for small business customers on Tariff 22, 94, 82 or 75, including those small businesses on market contracts that could access those tariffs.
  • Electricity prices will be capped, and water prices will be frozen next financial year.
  • The Government will freeze all fees and charges subject to the Government Fee Units Act 1997.
  • Impact form to complete: https://k2.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/Runtime/Runtime/Form/EDC.FRM.EmergencyDataCollectionForm/

• More details can be found at: https://coronavirus.tas.gov.au/stimulus-and-support

FOR EMPLOYEES & PARTICIPANTS – TASMANIA

• Relief payments for those in isolation
  • One-off payments of $250 for individuals or up to $1,000 for families, for those who are required by Public Health to self-isolate as a result of the coronavirus. Eligibility includes those with a Health Care Card or a Pensioners, Concession Card and those on low incomes who can demonstrate a need for financial support, including casual workers.

• Levy relief
  • Freezing of the Community Fire Levy, which is part of rates collections, from the next financial year.
  • Waive or refund school levies for this year. For those who have already paid their schools levies, the Government will arrange for these to be refunded.

• Utility costs
  • Capping of electricity prices and freeze water bills for next financial year. This is in addition to hardship funds and arrangements currently in place.

• Housing
  • Rent for social housing tenants will not increase, and will not count Federal and State Government emergency payments as income for the purposes of calculating rent contributions.