More WA small businesses can now access the State Government’s Level 2 COVID-19 Business Assistance Package after adjustments were made to eligibility requirements.
A new tiered grant will be available to businesses through the Small Business Hardship Grants Program that have experienced a 30 per cent reduction in turnover over any consecutive two-week period between January 1, 2022 and April 30, 2022, relative to the same period last year.
Businesses in this category will be eligible for a grant of between $3750 and $37,500 depending on the size of the business and the number of employees.
The original eligibility criteria for the Small Business Hardship Grants of a 50 per cent reduction in turnover threshold over any consecutive two-week period between January 1, 2022 and April 30, 2022, relative to the comparable period last year, has also been lowered to a 40 per cent reduction over a consecutive two-week period to help more businesses qualify.
The value of grants has also been increased depending on the size of the business and the number of employees, with payments to sole traders increased from $3000 to $5000, and payments to micro businesses increased from $7500 to $10,000.
The eligibility criteria for large hospitality businesses to access payroll tax relief has also been expanded.
Large hospitality businesses with payrolls of between $4 million and $20m will now receive a three-month payroll tax waiver if they have experienced a 40 per cent drop or more in turnover over any four-week period between January 1, 2022 and April 30, 2022, relative to a comparable period last year.
CCIWA had previously noted the very high threshold for eligibility at 50 percent reduction in turnover, which has now been addressed with tiered grants starting at a 30 per cent impact and scaling up to $37,000.
Small Business Minister Don Punch said: “I urge all small businesses impacted by COVID-19, including those who did not qualify under the initial criteria, to check their eligibility against the revised criteria and apply online.”
Applications close 4:00pm Thursday, June 30. Find out more here.
Food and beverage grants
WA agrifood and beverage businesses have been given a boost with $7m available from Round Two of the State Government’s Value Add Investment Grants program to build resilience, growth and diversification in the sector.
The program is stimulating investment in local food and beverage manufacturing and value-adding opportunities, while also building resilience to overcome supply chain vulnerabilities and reduce reliance on imported and interstate processed products.
The second round of Value Add Investment Grants, which has two funding streams, will have a particular emphasis on supporting proposals that improve sustainability, contribute to emissions reduction goals and strengthen resilience in WA’s food supply chain.
The Feasibility stream offers matching grants of between $30,000 and $100,000 to help plan and derisk future capital investment projects.
Individual grants of between $250,000 and $750,000 are available under the program’s Capital Investment funding stream to assist recipients to expand, diversify or relocate value adding and processing operations to WA.
A total of 18 WA food and beverage manufacturing and value adding businesses from the south coast to Kununurra benefited from the Round One grants.
For more information and to apply for a Value Add Investment Grant, visit www.agric.wa.gov.au/VAIG.
Applications for the Feasibility stream close at 5:00pm on June 8, 2022, while Capital Investment applications close at 5:00pm on June 22, 2022.
For resources and advice, see CCIWA’s COVID-19 Support Centre.
