The Victorian Chamber is pleased by today's announcement of a further $367 million in business support as a result of another joint effort by the State and Federal Governments to help businesses stay afloat during the extended Lockdown Six period.
This is the fifth allotment of business support made available and will provide payments to almost 100,000 eligible metropolitan businesses, including sole traders. The new allocation contains three main elements, including:
- A further $41 million added to the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund, with grants of $10,000 available to small and medium businesses across the state.
- A further $271 million for the Business Costs Assistance Program which will see more than 95,000 businesses in Metropolitan Victoria automatically receive payments of $2,800, with grants scheduled to be paid within seven business days.
- Automatic payments of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000 for more than 7,000 licensed hospitality venues across metropolitan areas that have previously received or been approved for grants under the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund program. Payment amounts will be tiered according to premises capacity: $5,000 for a capacity of up to 99 patrons, $10,000 for a capacity of 100 to 499 patrons and $20,000 for a capacity of 500-plus.
The State and Federal Governments have also reached an agreement to extend the Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payment for metropolitan workers and eligible businesses affected by the lockdown extension.
The Victorian Chamber encourages businesses to apply for all the assistance they are entitled to and we will provide
