How to apply for the NSW COVID19 Business Grant

The Greater Sydney lockdown has been tightened today, with the premier defining the critical supply services and the closure of all construction sites. It is estimated that the tougher lockdown will cause businesses in Greater Sydney around $800 million and 1 billion dollars per week. With this in mind, it is crucial to understand what grants are available to small businesses. At the moment, from 19 July 2021, the NSW Covid-19 support grant will be available to great small business people. The NSW COVID19 support grant is funded 100% by the New South Wales Government. 

The COVID-19 Business Support Grant of up to $15,000 will be open to apply from 19 July. The grants are in three tiers, which are

1. Tier 1 – $7,500, for businesses that had been impacted by the Public Health Order, and the Turnover had decreased by 30% or more. 
2. Tier 2 – $10,500 is for businesses with a 50% or more decrease in turnover. 
3. Tier 3 – $15,000 is for businesses with a 70% or more decrease in turnover. 

Hence the comparison period is two weeks, from 26 June 2021 to 26 July 2021. The business is to compare to the same Two weeks in the June or July months of 2019.

The eligibility criteria include.

1. Australian Business Number as of 1 June 2021 and operate in New South Wales.
2. Have Australian wages of less than $10 million as of 1 July 2020.
3. Have aggregated Turnover of between $75,000 to $ 50 million as of 30 June 2020.
4. Have business costs for which there is no other government support grant available. The costs would include legal, rent, marketing, and advertisement and do not include those costs met by the NSW small business fee and rebate grant.
5. Maintain the headcount as of 13 July 2021 for the periods in which the business receives the payment under this grant or the Job Saver grant. 

It is essential to check with your accountant to see whether your business is in attachment A of the highly impacted business. 

Also, attachment B highlight those businesses which are not eligible for the business grant; they include

• the Major Bank Levy was imposed on the entity or a member of its consolidated group for any quarter before 1 July 2021
• the entity is an Australian government agency (within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997)
• the entity is a local governing body
• the entity is wholly owned by an Australian government agency or local governing body
• the entity is a sovereign entity or owned by a sovereign entity
• the entity is a company in liquidation or provisional liquidation
• the entity is an individual who has entered bankruptcy
• the entity has been found to have been engaged in fraud
• the entity primarily earns passive income (rents, interest, or dividends).

The evidence to support the application of the grant include

1. The businesses declare that they experience the required decline in Turnover due to the Public Health Order over the stipulated time frame.
2. The business declares that they have eligible expenses for which no other government support is available. They will not require to provide evidence. However, they must keep the proof of cost for a possible future audit.
3. Declare their employee headcount on 13 July 2021.
4. Declare they will maintain their employee headcount as of 13 July 2021 for the period for which the business is receiving payment under the grant and Job saver scheme
5. Provide details of their qualified accountants, registered tax agents, or registered bas agents for future compliance checking.
6. Submit an Australian Tax Return (Or Notice of Assessment) or other documentation to demonstrate their business had an aggregated turnover of $75,000 to $ 50 million for the year ended 30 June 2020.

It is very likely that the evidence also includes the accountant’s letter. If the business can not get the accountant’s letter, they need to contact Service NSW for other arrangements. 

Hence even if you are outside of the highly impacted industry list, you still can apply, as long as you are not on the ineligible industry list. 

It is important to note that for businesses close to Victorian Border, the comparison period would be from 27 May 2021 to 26 July 2021 and compared to the same two weeks period in either May or June of 2019.

As the leading CPA accounting firm in Inner West Sydney, EndureGo Tax can help your business to apply for the NSW COVID19 support grant, come and talk to our friendly team, and our professional CPA accountant will be ready to help you out. Please give us a call on 1800841312.