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Governments provide financial assistance to businesses impacted by lockdown
Benalla business owners will be in a position to access funding to support their exit from the recent Victorian lockdown, thanks to a funding package from the state and Commonwealth governments.
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The new Victorian Business Support Package will deliver an additional $400 million in support to thousands of businesses, with funding to be split 50-50 between the Commonwealth and Victorian governments.
The package includes a new $85 million Small Business COVID Hardship Fund and a $156 million Business Continuity Fund, as well as delivering support for commercial tenants and landlords.
It will also build on Victorian Government support for licensed hospitality and Alpine venues, with $70 million for the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 and $9.8 million for Alpine Business Support.
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The programs will be administered by the Victorian Government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Victorian businesses had borne the brunt of the heavy cost of lockdowns that kept the state and Australia safe.
“Together we can and we will recover from this,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again.
“Last year, Victoria and our nation faced heavy blows from COVID, but with the right supports in place our economy and businesses came back strongly and a million people returned to work.
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“We will continue to do what is necessary to support Victorian businesses as we face the evolving challenges of COVID-19.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the package was all about protecting and growing jobs to support Victoria’s economic recovery.
“With this funding we’ll continue driving jobs and economic recovery here in Victoria, and for the nation,” Mr Andrews said.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Commonwealth Government supported Victorians during the crisis and would continue to support them to the end of the crisis.
“Having battled five lockdowns Victorian businesses have been amongst the hardest hit in the nation,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“No amount of support can make up for what business owners have experienced over the last year and a half, but this latest package will support them as they reopen after this latest lockdown.”
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the state government was supporting Victorian businesses.
“We know small businesses have been doing it tough and this new fund will give them the support they need to recover,” Mr Pallas said.
Five key elements make up the support package to help businesses deal with ongoing public health restrictions.
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Business Continuity Fund
A $156 million Business Continuity Fund will be established to deliver $5000 grants to up to about 30,000 businesses that remain impacted by capacity limits placed on businesses by necessary public health restrictions.
Twenty-four eligible sectors are covered by the fund including gyms, cafes, restaurants, catering services and hairdressers.
All recipients must have received or been eligible for the previous Business Cost Assistance Program.
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Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021
The Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund will receive a $70 million boost, with grants of up to $20,000 to be made available to support licensed venues as their operations continue to be impacted by current restrictions.
These grants recognise that larger venues depend more on dine-in customers and have higher operating costs, so need more support than smaller operations.
To receive this funding, venues will need to have received or been eligible for the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2020.
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Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme and Landlord Hardship Fund
The package, to be fully funded by the Victorian Government, will deliver $80 million to provide support to landlords that provide rent relief to their tenants.
The Commercial Tenancies Relief Scheme will be reinstated to provide much-needed rent relief to small-to-medium commercial tenants and their landlords with more details on the roll-out to be provided by the Victorian Government soon.
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Small Business COVID Hardship Fund
A new $85 million fund will be established to support small businesses who have not been eligible under existing business support funds.
Small businesses with a payroll of up to $10 million who have experienced a 70 per cent or greater reduction in revenue will be eligible for grants of up to $5000.
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Alpine Business Support Program
Alpine Business Support will receive a further $9.8 million to deliver grants of between $5000 and $20,000 to 430 Alpine-based businesses in recognition of restricted interstate and intra-state travel during the peak winter season.
The funding also includes an additional $5 million support to Alpine resort operators and management boards.
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