Wellington Shire Council has made it official – they've partnered with the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) to boost support for local small businesses working towards recovery.
The new partnership has come about through the Small Business Friendly Council initiative, which the VSBC has so far rolled out to 63 of the state's 79 local government areas.
Commissioner Lynda McAlary-Smith, Wellington Shire Mayor Cr Garry Stephens and CEO David Morcom put pen to paper this week, signing up to the initiative's Charter of commitments.
By signing up, the council is pledging to work with the VSBC on measures including:
- helping small business owners to keep trading throughout the life of disruptive infrastructure projects
- working towards paying small business suppliers within 14 days
- helping new local business networks to get up and running
- working to streamline approval processes for people wanting to start a business in the Shire.
Small businesses from a range of key industries stand to benefit from this commitment, including mining, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, education, community services and retail businesses.
This new commitment builds on the great work the council is doing to support local traders at this time, including their recruitment of COVID Business Support Officers for:
- providing advice to help businesses in high-risk locations like markets and shopping strips operate within COVIDSafe requirements
- working with local hospitality businesses, community venues and small retailers – including hairdressers, butchers, and milk bars – to make sure they can stay COVIDSafe.
