COVID Financial Support Packages

The NSW Government will be offering financial support to businesses and not-for-profit organisations impacted by the recent COVID-19 restrictions and stay-at-home orders. For members, the most important packages are the COVID-19 Small Business Grant, Micro Business Support Grant, JobSaver program, Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment.

New COVID Support Grants

Your business could be eligible for a COVID-19 Business Support Grant of up to $10,000. The grants will be available to eligible businesses in NSW based on the financial decline experienced during the restrictions:

• $5,000 for a decline in turnover of at least 30%
• $7,000 for a decline in turnover of at least 50% 
• $10,000 for a decline in turnover of at least 70%   

Businesses will be able to apply for grants through Service NSW from late July.

New COVID Support Grants

JobSaver Scheme Businesses

JobSaver Scheme Businesses with turnover between $75,000 and $50 million, and have experienced a decline in turnover of 30%, or more may be eligible for JobSaver. JobSaver is fortnightly payments for employing businesses of 40% of weekly payroll with a minimum payment of $1,500 per week and up to a maximum of $10,000 per week. This scheme will be open for applications late July 2021.

JobSaver Scheme Businesses

Micro-Business Grant

Businesses with a turnover between $30,000 and $75,000, and have experienced a revenue decline of 40%, or more may be eligible for the micro-business grant. This grant is a fortnightly payment of $1,500. This scheme will be open for applications in late July 2021.

Micro Business Grants

Small Business Grant

The Small Business Grant is a one-off lump sum grant of between $7,500 to $15,000 for eligible businesses that have experienced a decline in turnover during the restrictions. Businesses eligible for this grant must:

• Have an active ABN;
• Demonstrate your business was operating in NSW as at 1 June 2021;
• Have had total annual Australian wages of $10 million or less as at 1 July 2020;
• Have an aggregated turnover of between $75,000 and $50 million for the year ended 30 June 2020;
• Have business costs for which there is no other government support available; and
• Maintain your employee headcount as at 13 July 2021. The employee headcount is defined as the number of persons who are employed in NSW and are permanent or casual staff that have been employed by the business for more than 12 months. To maintain your employee headcount means maintaining the employee-employer relationship consistent with employment law. Employers will still remain eligible if their employees voluntarily resign.

Eligible businesses will be entitled to the following grant amounts depending on the decline in turnover experienced over a minimum two (2) week period from 26 June 2021 to 26 July 2021 compared to the same period in 2019:

Small Business Grant

Small Business Grant Guidelines

COVID-19 Disaster Payment

COVID-19 Disaster Payment is financial support that individuals (employees) can apply for and claim through Services Australia themselves. Employers are not required to do anything except being aware that Services Australia may contact them for verification of their employee’s claims. Individuals will need to check the eligibility rules applicable to them. Of interest to employers is the below criteria:

“that you’ve [individual] lost income on or after day eight (8) and don’t have any appropriate paid leave entitlements”.

Employees are required to use appropriate paid leave first before they are eligible for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment. Employees will also be considered to have used all their appropriate paid leave if the employer cannot pay the appropriate paid leave entitlement due to financial hardship. The definition of ‘appropriate paid leave’ does not include:

• Annual leave;
• Personal/carer’s leave;
• Long service leave;
• Compassionate leave when an employer has stood down an employee without pay;
• Unpaid leave.

This means an employee does not need to take the above types of leave before they can access the COVID19 Disaster Payment.

If an employee is eligible for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment they will be entitled to payments as follows:

• From 15 July 2021 for people in parts of Sydney declared Commonwealth hotspots and 18 July 2021 for all people in Greater Sydney
• If a person has lost between 8 and 20 hours of work per week or a full day’s work