NSW Small Businesses COVID-19 Recovery Grant Applications are Now Open

With COVID-19 restrictions starting to ease, this means some businesses are now able to reopen. 

To help small businesses and not-for-profit organisations meet the costs of safely reopening and putting in additional safety equipment and resources, The NSW Government has introduced a recovery grant valued at $500 - $3000. 

What is the Grant? 

The grant can only be used on eligible expenses. These may include, but are not limited to: 

• fit-out changes (e.g. plastic barriers at checkouts)
• staff training and counselling
• business advice and continuity planning
• cleaning products and additional cleaning services
• additional equipment necessary to comply with social distancing or other public health measures
• marketing, communications and advertising

Please note: This grant will only cover purchases made from 1 July 2020, and only where no other government support is available.

To read more about what safety expenses the grant can be spent on click here.

Eligibility Criteria 

To be eligible for this grant, you must as of 1 March 2020:

• Be a small business (annual turnover <$10m) or a not-for-profit organisation based in NSW.
• Have an ABN registered in NSW (make sure all your business details are up to date on the Australian Business Register - this is used to determine eligibility)
• Have an annual turnover of more than $75,000 (a Business Activity Statement must be provided as evidence).
• Employ less than 20 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff (non-employing businesses can apply)
• Be able to report a payroll below the NSW 2019-2020 payroll tax threshold of $900,000
• Be in a highly impacted industry by the Public Health Order 2020 (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement, see guidelines)
• Have experienced at least 30% decline in turnover from March to July 2020 compared to the equivalent period (of at least 2 weeks) in 2019
• Have costs associated with safely reopening or upscaling your business from 1 July 2020.

If you meet all of the requirements above, register for a MyService Account to submit the application.

What do you need to apply?

Please note, you will need two forms of identification to register for a MyService Account. These may include:

• Australian driver licence
• Medicare card
• Australian passport
• Australian birth certificate
• Australian travel visa
• Australian citizenship certificate
• Australian certificate of registration by descent
• Australian ImmiCard.

The application may also request the following documentation:

1. Business Activity Statements
2. An accountant letter to support that the business meets all the requirements.

Please note:

• Successful grant recipients may be audited in the future, so you will need to keep all documentary evidence relied upon to make an application for a minimum of 5 years. Talk to your business accountant to ensure you're prepared. 
  
  
• As part of an audit, you may also be required to provide evidence (for example, official receipts) demonstrating that you have used funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of this grant.
  
  
• It is a criminal offence to deliberately provide false or misleading information. Applicants who receive funds for which they are ineligible will be subject to recovery by Revenue NSW.

If you have any questions, or require assistance applying for the grant, please contact your local Kelly+Partners office today.

We are here to help.