Eligible Victorian businesses and sole traders impacted by ongoing COVID-19 restrictions will receive a further $282.5 million top-up in cash grants as the lockdown continues into next week.
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Small business owners in Shepparton say they are grateful, but some fall through the gaps, and others say it won’t stretch far enough.
Victorian Industry Support and Recovery Minister Martin Pakula announced the additional funding on Wednesday, July 21, and said it would ensure businesses most affected by lockdown would "have a chance to emerge from it in decent shape".
It brings total support for the 12-day shutdown to $484 million, with 86,000 eligible businesses having received grants so far.
The further $282 million will be paid automatically to around 90,000 eligible applicants who received funding in the most recent lockdown "by the end of the week".
Businesses that did not apply or were ineligible for funding last time are "welcome" to apply in the current round of payments.
Though small businesses not registered for GST remain ineligible for the Business Costs Assistance payment, the eligibility requirements for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment were changed to include them.
Mr Pakula said the "vast majority" of small businesses would receive the $600 COVID-19 Disaster Payment instead of targeted business support if they had lost work, which was the "appropriate amount".
Businesses registered for GST are eligible for the "full business support package".
Under the current scheme, a COVID-19 Disaster Payment of $375 or $600 a week depending on lost hours is being jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the Victorian Government for workers hit by COVID-19 restrictions.
Applications for the scheme open on Friday and will be backdated to the beginning of lockdown.
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Shepparton family photographer Nicole Peters was full of frustration on Tuesday when she learned she would miss out on business support payments because she was not registered for GST.
Ms Peters lost her job in 2020 and relied on JobSeeker payments until lockdown lifted, enabling her to open Nicole Peters Photography.
But recurring lockdowns have heavily impacted Ms Peters’ income, while the costs of running a business and sustaining her family never stop.
“My kids are in day care, which costs over $700 a fortnight . . . and groceries and everything on top of that,” she said.
“This is our income, and we’re being told our main source of income is not classed as essential, and it’s heartbreaking.”
Following Wednesday’s announcement, Ms Peters was reading the terms carefully, still trying to determine whether she would receive the COVID-19 Disaster Payment.
“They haven’t made anything easy,” she said.
Leo and Jan Tenace run Romburi Thai Massage and Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Kyabram.
Opening the business three years before COVID-19 struck, the couple hasn't started earning enough to reach the GST threshold.
Mr Tenace said any extra income was "better than nothing".
“It's important to stay positive, but we've had to close every lockdown and it's just been an absolute battle,” he said.
“We didn't get any government grants at all, haven't qualified for any . . . we're in a pickle.”
Mr Tenace said he was "grateful" for support from Centrelink but it was "hard work" receiving any supplement.
“The red tape involved is more of a headache than anything, you've just got to jump through more hoops and we're hanging on by a thread,” he said.
Mr Tenace is becoming a qualified aged care worker as a "back-up" in case the business goes under.
“I don't want to lose the business, we love what we're doing, we can treat some really tough injuries with good success,” he said.
“But we can't pivot to drive-through or takeaway or ordering online.
“The problem with small business is we still have to pay insurances, rates, rent; nobody stops and says, ‘Well you're not working, you don't have to pay your bills'.”
Business owners receiving income support via JobSeeker and other welfare payments remain ineligible to apply for any of the additional financial support.
Shepparton car detailer Dave Miller told the News on Tuesday of his struggle to keep the doors open at his small business, which was not registered for GST.
Despite the changes to the eligibility requirements, Mr Miller, who receives $620.80 a fortnight from JobSeeker payments, will not receive further support to continue operating Shepparton TFD Detailing.
Although he was disappointed to miss out, Mr Miller was glad to see a lifeline offered to some of his peers.
“As long as it helps others,” he said.
"It’ll make life a lot easier, put it that way, but it won’t fix what’s already happened."
Cadet journalist