What is the covid-19 disaster payment? The Commonwealth and New South Wales Government have announced a new combined support program to increase payments to businesses and employees and extend eligibility to the New South Wales region.
Here are the details of the new business support program announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and, for the first time in New South Wales.
NSW COVID-19 Disaster Payment Support for Individuals
As part of a new combined assistance package, payment in the event of a COVID-19 disaster will be further expanded and extended.
- Beginning in the fourth week of isolation, COVID-19 disaster payments will increase to $600 if a person lost 20 or more hours of work per week or $375 if a person lost eight under 20 hours of work per week.
- Payment will be a recurring payment to approved recipients as long as lockdown restrictions are maintained.
- As of July 18, 2021, Disaster Payment were made available for out-of-city access points outside the Commonwealth of New South Wales that meet the payment criteria.
This support will be provided to any other state or territory facing widespread isolation.
NSW Support payments to small and medium-sized enterprises
A new business support payment will be available for entities with annual revenues between $75,000 and $50 million. This can demonstrate a 30% reduction in revenues.
- Eligible entities will receive 40% of their NSW payroll payments, with a minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $10,000 per week.
- Entities will be eligible if their billing is 30% less than the two-week period in 2019.
- Entities will be required to maintain their full-time, part-time and long-term workforce from July 13, 2021.
- For non employing businesses, such as sole proprietorships, the payment will be set at $1,000 per week.
- Companies are eligible to register their interests with the NSW service from July 14, 2021.
Additional Support: Expansion of the business grant program by New South Wales Government
The NSW government’s recently announced business grant program has been extended!
The main components of the package include:
- Eligible businesses with Australian salaries below $10 million can apply for grants of between $7,500 and $15,000 to cover the first three weeks of restrictions.
- 25% payroll tax exemption for companies with Australian salaries not exceeding $10 million.
- Micro businesses with incomes between $30,000 and $75,000 with a 30% decline in income will be eligible for a payment of $1,500 over two weeks.
- A limited grant of up to $1,500 for landlords who are not required to pay property taxes that reduce renters’ rents.
- Reduction in property tax equal to the number of rent reductions offered by commercial, retail, and residential landlords to tenants in financial difficulty.
- Introduction of a short-term eviction moratorium on rent arrears when a residential tenant experiences a 25% loss of income due to COVID-19.
Who is Eligible for NSW Disaster Payments?
You must have met all eligibility rules to be paid for COVID-19-related disasters – New South Wales (NSW).
If you are a sole trader, you may be eligible for this payment. However, you will first need to verify that you are eligible for an NSW Business Support Payment.
Also, you can only get payment for disasters caused by COVID-19 or payment for state-owned business support for the period in question, not both. You need to decide which payment is best for you.
In order to be paid for a COVID-19 emergency, you must comply with all applicable eligibility rules.
It includes all these rules:
- As an individual you are 17 or over
- Did not get a pandemic health emergency payment, state or territorial pandemic payment, or state payment to a small business for the same time period.
- You did not receive a regular income, and your employer did not get Retaining Domestic Airline Capability on your behalf.
- Did not not receive ABSTUDY allowance for income support, Parental leave pay, dad and partner pay, or income support allowance.
- You have lived, worked, or visited a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot in NSW, which is subject to a restricted movement order.
- Lost hours of work and income due to a lockdown in your state and not entitled to paid pandemic leave.
- You are an Australia resident or have a visa that allows you to work in Australia
- As an individual you were unable to earn a normal income of 8 hours or more or a full working day because you were in a COVID-19 hotspot in NSW and under traffic restrictions.
You have met the requirement to reside or work at a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot if both apply:
- Live or work in an area which isn’t lockdown
- You cannot work because you can’t enter or exit the locked zone.
You are no longer required to comply with the Commonwealth Access Point COVID-19 eligibility rule when both apply:
- Your state or territory has reached 80% complete vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine
- Your COVID-19 disaster payment request has been granted for a relevant period. This includes the date your state or territory reaches 80% full COVID-19 vaccination.
You do not need to take annual leave before receiving this payment. If you choose to take annual leave and don’t cover all the hours you’ve wasted, you can still get paid.
You were to work full time from your usual place of work. However, this was not possible due to the limited movement order. This includes the fact that you cannot participate in a full-time, part-time, or occasional shift of fewer than 8 hours.
You must also have complied with the rules of the COVID-19 health ordinance that hit you. They may differ depending on the circumstances of each position or movement restrictions.
Limited movement is a period during which:
- People must stay at home and can only go out for approved reasons.
- There are restrictions on the number of people who can gather at a workplace, including a business.
A hotspot is an area of local transmission of COVID-19 declared by the chief medical officer. The Department of Health website lists current hotspots. The declaration of a COVID-19 hotspot for a state or territory ends automatically when the state or territory reaches 80% of the complete COVID-19 vaccinations.
