State Government COVID-19 assistance via Business Support Fund
The Victorian Government announced in March a $500 million Business Support Fund to support businesses that have been significantly affected by the shutdown restriction announced by the Victorian Government as a result of the coronavirus.
The fund provides eligible businesses with one-off grants of $10,000 through two streams (see below)
Standard Eligibility Criteria
All applicants must satisfy these criteria:
- Employ staff
- Have a turnover more than $75,000
- Have a payroll less than $650,000
- Hold an Australian Business Number and held that ABN at 16 March 2020
- Be carrying out the operation of the business in Victoria on 16 March 2020.
Specific Eligibility Criteria
- For Stream One – The business must operate in an industry sector that has been subject to closure or highly impacted by the restrictions announced by the Victorian Government
- For Stream Two – the business must be enrolled as eligible participants in the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper program
Industry sectors eligible for Stream One
Stream One is for eligible small businesses in the hardest hit sectors, which includes businesses in the following categories:
- Accommodation and Food Services
- Arts and Entertainment
- Health and Beauty Services
- Sport and recreation
- Places of Worship
- Tourism
- Retail, other than supermarket, groceries, liquor and pharmacy businesses
- Other services (e.g. real estate agents).
How to apply
The application is completed on line by clicking the Apply Now button from here
Applicants will need to provide a copy of their most recent Business Activity Statement (BAS) as evidence that your business is registered for GST with the ATO. Examples of acceptable BAS examples are shown here
If you are unable to provide a BAS as your business is a not-for-profit registered with the ACNC, you must provide business bank statements to evidence that your business activities in the 2019/20 financial year meet the eligibility criteria. Please note that this may delay the processing of your application.
Applications close Monday 1 June 2020.
