Eligible businesses in 13 local government areas, including Murray River Council, will be able to apply for $5000 and $10,000 grants through Service NSW from Tuesday, September 8.
Murray River Council Mayor Chris Bilkey said NSW border councils had been lobbying for financial support for local businesses and welcomed the announcement.
“We recognise these grants don’t go very far for businesses whose income has been devastated by the border closure,” he said.
“However, we hope they will go some way to keep jobs going in our local communities by helping support our businesses to meet general operating expenses.
“There may also be some opportunities for businesses to implement initiatives that may help them adapt to these new conditions.”
Cr Bilkey said the border closures and tightened restrictions in Victoria continued to adversely impact NSW businesses.
“The impacts on visitor economy for hospitality and tourism businesses in particular are worrying; our local tourism operators have reported a drop in turnover of 80 per cent compared to the same time last year,” he said.
NSW Deputy Premier and Regional NSW Minister John Barilaro said the $45 million grant program included two tiers of targeted support.
“The first tier of $5000 is for employing and non-employing small businesses, such as non-employing sole traders, that have suffered at least a 30 per cent decline in turnover as a result of the border closure.
“The second tier of $10,000 is for employing small businesses that have suffered at least a 75 per cent decline as a result of the closure.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked border communities for their patience during “this very difficult time”.
“We know people in border communities like Albury-Wodonga, Yarrawonga-Mulwala and Echuca-Moama usually move between towns, with closures having a significant impact on day-to-day business,” she said.
The southern border small business support grant can only be used for eligible expenses incurred following the introduction of the NSW and Victoria border permit scheme on July 8, 2020.
The grant must only be used for expenses for which no other government support is available. For example, this grant cannot be used to pay wages for staff eligible for JobKeeper.
More information is available on the Service NSW website.
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