Coronavirus response: Support for business

The Australian Government has a range of measures to support business and provide temporary relief during the COVID-19 health emergency.

At QSuper we’re committed to supporting our members and their employers, and never more so than during the current coronavirus health crisis.

Here’s a brief summary of the Government’s support measures:

Jobkeeper payment for small businesses that have experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more

The JobKeeper Payment is a subsidy program designed to help businesses affected by the coronavirus to cover the costs of their employees’ wages, so that more employees can retain their job and continue to earn an income. Under the program, you may be able to claim a fortnightly payment of $1,500 per eligible employee. It is also available to the self-employed.

The JobKeeper scheme was originally scheduled to run until 27 September 2020, however the Government has extended it to 28 March 2021, although payments will be reduced from 28 September 2020.¹

The Government has also adjusted the reference date for determining employee eligibility and to make it easier for organisations to qualify for the JobKeeper payment extension.

From 28 September 2020, businesses and not-for-profits seeking to claim the JobKeeper payment will be required to reassess their eligibility with reference to their actual turnover. The JobKeeper extension will be available to qualifying businesses and not-for-profits until 28 March 2021.

For more information visit the ATO website.

Eligibility conditions are outlined in the available fact sheet

Boosting cash flow for employers

The Government is providing up to $100,000 to eligible small and medium-sized businesses, and not for-profits (NFPs) that employ people, with a minimum payment of $20,000. These payments will help businesses and NFPs with their cash flow so they can keep operating, pay their rent, electricity and other bills and retain staff.

The government estimates that this measure will benefit around 690,000 businesses.

Details and eligibility conditions are outlined in the available fact sheet

Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses

The 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. The package also includes temporary relief for directors from any personal liability for trading while insolvent, and providing temporary flexibility in the Corporations Act 2001 to provide temporary and targeted relief from provisions of the Act to deal with unforeseen events that arise as a result of the coronavirus health crisis.

The specific elements are:

• a temporary increase in 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
• a temporary increase in the threshold for a creditor to initiate bankruptcy proceedings, an increase in the time period for debtors to respond to a bankruptcy notice, and extending the period of protection a debtor receives after making a declaration of intention to present a debtor’s petition
• temporary relief for directors from any personal liability for trading while insolvent
• providing temporary flexibility in the Corporations Act 2001 to provide targeted relief for companies from provisions of the Act to deal with unforeseen events that arise as a result of the coronavirus health crisis.

Download the fact sheet here

Increasing the instant asset write-off

The Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 and expanding access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million) until 30 June 2020.

Find out more here

Supporting apprentices and trainees

Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50% of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage for 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Employers will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee ($7,000 per quarter).

Read the details here

How to find out more

For more information on the Australian Government’s Economic Response to the coronavirus visit treasury.gov.au/coronavirus

1 Media release 21 July 2020, https://www.pm.gov.au/media/jobkeeper-payment-and-income-support-extended