If you are in one of the Queensland LGA’S currently affected by lockdown, there is support available for you.

Business Support Grant

A newly created grant of $5,000 will be available to support small and medium business affected by the current lockdown.

Full eligibility details for this payment are not known as of yet.

What we know so far:

  • Grants of $5,000 will be made available to small and medium businesses across Queensland
  • The grant will be for businesses with a turnover of more than $75,000 per annum and annual payroll of up to $10 million
  • Your business doesn’t have to be located in Southeast Queensland but you must have experienced at least a 30% reduction in turnover as a result of the lockdown
  • Applications will open mid-August
  • You will apply online and need to submit supporting evidence
  • You will be paid the grant funds within 2 weeks of being notified that your application has been approved

What we don’t know:

  • What the online application looks like
  • What the supporting evidence is
  • What the test period for the 30% reduction is

Applications will open mid-August and will be available to make via Business Queensland. The Quill team will keep you updated and informed as new information becomes available, including the application open date and finer eligibility criteria.

COVID-19 Disaster Payment

The COVID-19 Disaster Payment is a weekly payment for eligible individuals who are unable or to work or experiencing loss of income, due to lockdown.

To apply, you must meet the following criteria:

  • be in one of the Commonwealth COVID-19 hotspots
  • be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or temporary visa holder with working rights
  • be 17 years or older
  • have lost 8 hours or more of your usual work due to COVID-19 restrictions
  • are not currently receiving income support, state/territory pandemic, Pandemic Leave or state small business payments (additional $200 top-up payments will be eligible to those currently on income support should they meet further requirements set by the government)

Support payments will be applied from day one of the lockdown and will be paid in arrears. Payments are $450 for between 8-20 hours of work lost, or $750 for 20 or more. Payments will not be taxable. You can apply for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment via your Centrelink account on the MyGov account.

Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment

The Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment is for individuals needing to self-isolate due to:

  • testing positive to COVID-19
  • caring for a child under 16 years old who is a close contact of a COVID-19 case, or who has COVID-19
  • caring for someone who has tested positive to COVID-19
  • being a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case

Eligibility requirements are also similar to the COVID-19 Disaster Payments in regards to tax residency, age, and not receiving other streams of income support.

Payments are $1,500 and are taxable. You can apply by calling Services Australia on 180 22 66.

 

For further information regarding any of these payments, please check out the Queensland Government website or contact our friendly team for assistance.