COVID-19
New small business grants announced yesterday in QLD – is your service eligible?
Freya Lucas
May 20, 2020
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Queensland small businesses, including those operating in early childhood education and care (ECEC), are now able to apply for a grant of up to $10,000 as part of a new $100 million package to help counter the economic impact of COVID-19.
The package was announced yesterday as part of Queensland’s Economic Recovery Strategy, dubbed Unite and Recover for Queensland Jobs.Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the new grants program had been developed to assist those small businesses “forced into hibernation”, to restructure or to significantly change their business operations or move online as a result of the pandemic.
“Small businesses represent 97 per cent of all businesses and employ over 970,000 people or 45 per cent of the State’s private sector workforce,” the Premier said, adding that the grants acknowledge that small businesses “have been doing it really tough”.
The grants will provide what the Premier termed “immediate support” to help small businesses “get back on their feet and come out stronger on the other side”.
Queensland Minister for Employment and Small Business Shannon Fentiman said the new Small Business Adaption Grants will assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 to be more resilient and recover.
“Small businesses, including micro businesses, can apply for a share in the grants program to help pay for financial, legal or other professional advice, marketing and communications activities and digital or technology strategy development,” she said.
The grants can also be used to buy specialised digital equipment or business specific software to help move the business online.
“We also realise that businesses may not currently have the financial resources to co-fund, so we won’t require matched funding which will better support our local businesses.”
The Palaszczuk Government will provide up to $10,000 for each project.
The Small Business Adaption Grants will be funded through the $500 million Worker Assistance Package, which includes rapid delivery of projects to assist those who have lost their jobs or income and small businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assistance currently available for Queensland small businesses includes:
- Six-month rent relief for govt building tenants
- Land tax relief for commercial property owners which must be passed onto tenants in the form of rent relief
- Payroll tax relief – 2 month refund, 3 month holiday, 6 month deferral – most businesses will not pay payroll tax for 2020
- $500 energy rebates for small and medium sized businesses
- $500 million in interest free loans
- Free one on one mentoring
- Free business resilience workshops at TAFE
- 15 free online TAFE courses available through Jobs Finder portal.
Applications are open now and will close when funding has been exhausted.
The $100 million support package includes $96 million in Small Business Adaption Grants and $4 million in new training for business. More information on this will be available soon, the Minister said.
For information on how to apply and eligibility, visit www.business.qld.gov.au
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