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SA COVID-19 Business Support Measures & Eligibility

With our business clients based Australia-wide we are covering COVID-19 business support details across all States. In South Australia (SA) the State Government has released several COVID-19 support measures to assist eligible businesses who have been impacted. Below we outline those currently available to eligible businesses in SA as well as the eligibility criteria and application details.

Contents

COVID-19 Business Support Grant

The Government of South Australia has established a Business Support Grant to support South Australian businesses and organisations whose turnover has significantly declined as a result of COVID-19 health restrictions since 20 July 2021. There are grants for both employing and non-employing businesses.

Eligible employing businesses will be provided with a once-off $3,000 grant and eligible non-employing businesses will be provided with a once-off $1,000 grant to support them in these difficult circumstances.

The Grant can be used to cover meeting business costs, including utilities, salaries and rent; seeking financial, legal or other advice to support business continuity planning; developing the business through marketing and communication activities; and / or other supporting activities related to the operation of the business.


Eligibility

Employing businesses are eligible to apply for a Business Support Grant provided they meet the following criteria: At the start of the COVID-19 health restriction period of 12:01am Tuesday 20 July 2021:

  • Have a valid and active Australian business number (ABN) and were carrying on the operation of a business in South Australia.
  • Employ people in South Australia.* (only applicable for the $3,000 grant)
  • Have an annual turnover of more than $75,000 (excluding GST) in either 2019-20 or 2020-21 and be registered for GST.
  • Have total Australian payroll of less than $10 million in 2019-20.
  • Experienced at least a 30 per cent reduction in turnover in the week defined as Tuesday 20 July 2021 – Monday 26 July 2021 (inclusive) (compared to the prior 7-day period) due to restricted trading conditions^^.
  • The enterprise does not engage in illegal activity.

* To be considered an employee, staff must be under the control of the business, receive regular PAYG salary or wages, and have Pay As You Go Withholding amounts as well as superannuation paid by the employer. An owner, partner, or beneficiary of a trust is not considered to be an employee for the purpose of this grant.

^^ Businesses will be required to declare a reduction in turnover due to restricted trading conditions. They will not be required to provide any supporting information at the time of application but will be required to retain supporting information that could be made available if required such as:

  • Turnover comparison data for the week prior to the assessment period;
  • Emails or texts to or from clients or suppliers detailing cancelled orders or appointments;
  • Receipts for refunds provided;
  • Invoices or delivery dockets;
  • Appointment/scheduling platform, demonstrating cancelled appointments or bookings; and / or
  • Screenshots of cancelled events.

How to Apply

Applications can be made online via the COVID-19 Business Support Grant – Application Portal.

Applicants must certify that they meet the eligibility criteria when submitting an online application.

Applicants will be subject to audit by the Government of South Australia or its representatives and will be required to produce evidence at the request of the Government for a period of 2 years after the grant has been approved.

If any information in applications is found to be false or misleading, the grant will be repayable on demand.

Applications close midnight 30 September 2021.

COVID-19 Additional Business Support Grant

Grants of $3,000 for employing businesses and $1,000 for non-employing businesses will be available for businesses in eligible industry sectors (those that have been significantly impacted by the restrictions) that have experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more as a result of the COVID-19 health trading restrictions introduced from 28 July 2021.

A further grant of $1,000 will be available for eligible businesses (both employing and non-employing) with a commercial premise in the Adelaide CBD. This recognises that an increased number of employees have been working from home (in line with health advice) and the flow on impact this has on businesses operating in the CBD.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the grant, businesses must meet the criteria listed below as at the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Wednesday 28 July 2021:

  • Be located within South Australia.
  • Have a valid and active ABN (Australian Business Number) and be registered for the GST.
  • Have an Australia-wide payroll of less than $10 million in the 2019-20 financial year.
  • Operate in an eligible industry sector identified in the list of eligible ANZSIC classes
  • And must have experienced at least a 30 per cent reduction in turnover due to the restricted trading conditions over the two weeks from 28 July 2021 (the commencement date of the trading restriction) to 10 August 2021 compared to average fortnightly turnover in the June quarter 2021 (prior to restrictions).

To be deemed an employing business, the business must employ people in South Australia.

There is no minimum turnover test for the COVID-19 Additional Business Support Grant, but a business must be registered for GST.

Where multiple non-employing businesses meeting the eligibility criteria are controlled by one individual, company, partnership, or trustee, funding will be restricted to one grant for all non‑employing businesses controlled by the individual, company, partnership, or trustee.

Businesses must be able to provide evidence of this reduction in turnover if requested and retain these records for 2 years from the date the grant was approved. Applications may be subject to audit.

Eligibility – further $1,000 Grant for businesses located in the CBD

To be eligible for the additional $1,000 grant, businesses at the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Wednesday 28 July 2021 must:

  • Operate the relevant business from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD#.

# The Adelaide CBD is defined as postcode 5000. Residential premises and vacant land are not considered commercial premises for the purpose of this grant.

How to Apply

Applications can be made via the Application Portal. Applications close 17 October 2021.

Major Events Support Grant

A Major Events Support Grant of up to $25,000 is available for the operators of major one-off events impacted by the July lockdown and subsequent trading restrictions.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the grant a business as at 12:01am on 20 July 2021 must:

  • Have a valid and active ABN (Australian Business Number) and be registered for the GST.
  • Have an Australia-wide payroll of less than $10 million in the 2019-20 financial year.
  • Employ people in South Australia.
  • Be the organiser/operator of an event that:
    - commenced on or prior to 20 July 2021, and was required to be cancelled/postponed as a result of Statewide lockdown and further restrictions; or
    - was scheduled to be held over period of State-wide lockdown or restrictions commencing 20 July 2021 up to 10 August 2021 and has been cancelled/postponed as a result of the restrictions.
  • The event was a one-off event with an approved COVID Management Plan or COVID Safe Plan catering for an event of over 1,000 combined capacity in one or across multiple locations.
    - Entities with an on-going COVID-19 Management/Safe Plan for regularly scheduled events are not eligible.
  • Have incurred a non-recoverable financial loss as a result of the cancellation or postponement of the event.

To receive the full $25,000 grant, organisers must have experienced a non-recoverable loss that was greater than $25,000.

To the extent that the business received support under the COVID-19 Business Support Grant – July 2021 and/or the COVID-19 Additional Business Support Grant, these amounts will be deducted from the Major Events Support Grant.

How to Apply

A Major Events Grant Application form must be completed and submitted via the COVID-19 Support Fund inbox.

Applications close midnight 17 October 2021.



The above details are based on the information available on Department of Treasury and Finance’s website as at 17 August 2021. As details are continually being updated in response to the on-going impact of COVID-19, we recommend you continue to check the government website to ensure you are kept up to date with the current information available.

If you require assistance in determining your eligibility, assistance with the application process or an Accountant’s Letter, our team at BLG Business Advisers are Wollongong Accountants are are here to help so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

We wish you and your business every success!

*This information is relevant at the time of publishing and is subject to change*
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