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In addition to the support packages announced by the the federal government, the state governments are also providing help. Last Friday, the NSW government announced their third wave of support measures to keep small businesses afloat. They will put $750 million into providing Small Business Support Grants of up to $10,000 to affected businesses.

Small Business Support Grant

The purpose of this grant of up to $10,000 is to allow highly impacted NSW businesses to pay for unavoidable business costs. Industries that have been forced to close or are highly affected by the COVID-19 health directions include:

• Retail trade
• Accommodation and food service
• Rental, hiring and real estate services
• Administrative and support services
• Arts and recreation services.

To be eligible, businesses will need to:

• have between 1-19 employees and a turnover of more than $75,000
• a payroll below the NSW Government 2019-20 payroll tax threshold of $900,000
• have an Australian Business Number as at 1 March 2020, be based in NSW and employ staff as at 1 March 2020
• be highly impacted by the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 issued on 30 March 2020
• use the funding for unavoidable business costs such as utilities, overheads, legal costs and financial advice
• provide appropriate documentation upon application.

The application form will be available on the Service NSW website by 17 April.

Other NSW government stimulus measures

Previously announced initiatives for NSW small businesses include:

• An increase in the Payroll Tax tax-free threshold from $900,000 to $1 million from 1 July 2020.
• A waiver of Payroll Tax for March to May 2020 for businesses with payrolls of $10 million or less. On lodging their annual reconciliation, these employers will need to declare the wages paid in these months. However they will receive a 25% reduction in their payroll tax for the year.
• A further three month deferral of payroll tax payments for employers who received the 3-month waiver.
• A six-month deferral of payroll tax payments for employers who did not receive the 3-month waiver.
• Deferral of rents for 6 months for commercial tenants with less than 20
  employees in all Government-owned properties.