Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update #2 – Information for industry

The coronavirus (COVID-19) situation has moved rapidly over the past few days. This is having a monumental impact on the tourism industry and our immediate focus remains to support you.

The Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victorian Governments have all announced a range of initiatives to support industry through this crisis.

Commonwealth Government support initiatives include:

  • Boosting cash flow for employers: The Australian Government is providing up to $100,000 to eligible small and medium sized businesses, and not for-profits (including charities) that employ people, with a minimum payment of $20,000. These payments will help businesses’ and not-for-profits’ cash flow so they can keep operating, pay their rent, electricity and other bills and retain staff. The payment will be delivered by the Australian Tax Office from Tuesday 28 April 2020. More information
  • Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme: The Australian Government will establish the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, which will support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to get access to working capital to help them through the impact of the coronavirus. Under the Scheme, the Australian Government will provide eligible lenders with a guarantee for loans by eligible SMEs (including sole traders) of up to $250,000 for a three year term with no repayments for the first six months. Operators are encouraged to contact their bank to commence discussions about accessing these loans. More information
  • Expanding eligibility to income support payments: The Australian Government is expanding eligibility to income support payments and establishing a new, time limited coronavirus supplement. The expanded access to income support payments includes to sole traders, the self-employed, casual workers and some contract workers. More information
  • Early release of superannuation: The Australian Government will allow individuals in financial stress as a result of the coronavirus to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21. More information
  • Providing temporary relief for financially distressed businesses: The Australian Government is temporarily increasing the threshold at which creditors can issue a statutory demand on a company and the time companies have to respond to statutory demands they receive. More information

NSW Government support initiatives include:

  • Payroll tax reduction: Payroll tax customers whose total grouped Australian wages for the 2019/20 financial year are no more than $10 million will have their annual tax liability reduced by 25 per cent when they lodge their annual reconciliation. The NSW Government will also bring forward the next round of payroll tax cuts by raising the threshold limit to $1 million in 2020-21.
    More information.
  • Waiving fees and charges: The NSW Government will waive a range of fees for small businesses including bars, cafes, restaurants and tradies. More information.

Victorian Government support initiatives include:

  • Payroll tax relief: The Victorian Government will provide full payroll tax refunds for the 2019-20 financial year to small and medium-sized businesses with payroll of less than $3 million. The same businesses will also be able to defer any payroll tax for the first three months of the 2020/21 financial year until 1 January 2021. More information
  • Waiving liquor licencing fees: The Victorian Government will support the hospitality sector by waiving renewable liquor licensing fees for 2020 for affected venues and small businesses. More information
  • Economic Survival and Jobs Package: The Victorian Government will provide $500 million to establish a Business Support Fund. The fund will support the hardest hit sectors, including hospitality, tourism, accommodation, arts, entertainment and retail. Register your interest in receiving more details about the Economic Survival and Jobs Package
  • Land Tax Relief: Land owners due to pay 2020 land tax that have at least one non-residential property and total taxable landholdings below $1 million have the option of deferring their 2020 land tax payment until after 31 December 2020. More information
  • Working for Victoria: The Victorian Government has introduced a register to match the skills of displaced workers with other businesses looking to gear up in the current environment. More information

Our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information and Updates webpage has links to official health and business support information, including the initiatives mentioned above, to help you navigate through this challenging time. The page also includes information regarding cancellations.

Please ‘Like’ our Murray Regional Tourism Facebook page so we can provide you with the latest health and business support information in a timely manner.

We urge you to look into and take advantage of the support initiatives available. If you require assistance regarding your eligibility for the support packages, please speak with your accountant or business adviser.

The Murray Regional Tourism team are here to support you and are all contactable via phone and email. If you require support or would like to discuss any concerns, please contact us on 03 5480 7110 or email [email protected]

Look after yourselves and one another. We will be there with you to help get people back supporting the Murray region as soon as we can and together, we will make it strong again.