If your business, or wages, have been impacted by the latest Covid shutdowns in Sydney, below is a summary of what assistance you can access from today.
Workers and individuals:
- Sydney workers will get $600 per week from the federal government if they have lost 20 or more hours of work each week, and $375 if they have lost between eight and 20 hours of work a week.
- Workers statewide will get the same payments for losing work as available to people in Sydney, but this will be paid by the state government.
- Renters who lose a quarter of their income will be protected from eviction for 60 days.
Businesses:
- Businesses with annual turnover between $75,000 and $10 million will receive weekly payments amounting to 40 per cent of their payroll if they have suffered a 30 per cent drop in turnover compared to an equivalent two week period in 2019.
- Payments are set at a minimum of $1500 and maximum of $10,000 per week.
- To get the cash, a business must maintain staffing levels at what they were on July 13.
- Non-employing businesses like sole traders will get $1000 per week.
- Businesses with wage bills below $10 million will be able to claim grants from between $7500 and $15,000 to cover the first three weeks of the lockdown.
- All payroll tax will be deferred for two months. Businesses with payrolls up to $10 million who have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover will have payroll tax scrapped for the first quarter of the year.
- “Micro businesses” with a turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000 who have seen a 30 per cent turnover loss will get $1500 a fortnight, backdated to the start of the lockdown.
For more information and to apply for benefits above, visit Services Australia or Service NSW.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that $4 billion has been allocated by the government to give relief to struggling businesses across the state.
“These programs will provide timely and targeted support for businesses to help them with much needed cash flow, maintain employees and provide relief for business expenses, for which no other government support is available,” he said.
“We’re committed to keeping businesses in business, and people in jobs which is why we’re providing tax-free grants of between $7,500 and $15,000 to help alleviate some of the economic pressures being faced during the current Covid-19 lockdown.”