18th February 2022
On 30 January 2022, the Small Business Support Program was announced to help business owners who have been hardest hit by the current COVID-19 situation. Those eligible could receive 20 percent of their weekly payroll cost as a one-off payment later in February. The minimum payment benchmark is $750 per week, while the maximum is $5,000 per week. Non-employing businesses could be eligible to receive $500 per week, paid as a $2,000 lump sum.
To qualify at this stage, applicants must:
- have an aggregated annual turnover of between $75,000 and $50 million as of 30 June 2021
- have experienced at least a 40 percent turnover decline during January 2022, compared to January 2021 or 2020
- and experienced at least a 40 percent turnover decline from 1 to 14 February 2022 as a result of Omicron disruption, compared to the same fortnight in February of 2021 or 2020
- employing businesses must maintain their employee headcount as of 30 January 2022
Applications open on 14 February and will close on 31 March. The payment will be made in one lump sum covering the four weeks of February 2022.
Applicants will be required to complete an online application form through the Service NSW website.
Evidence requirements will include:
- If they have employees, declare the employee headcount on 30 Jan 2022 and declare they will maintain that headcount for Feb 2022
- If they have employees, provide evidence of how the weekly payroll was calculated by submitting the December 2021 BAS
- If they don’t have employees, declare that the business is the primary source of income ie more than 50% of total income earned
- Submit their 2021 tax return to demonstrate the business had turnover of more than $75K
- Submit supporting evidence to support the 40% decline in turnover for January 2022 when compared with either Jan 2021 or Jan 2020 through either:
- Instalment Activity Statements for Jan 2022 and either Jan 2021 or Jan 2020 if the applicant lodges monthly statements, or
- A letter from a qualified accountant or registered BAS agent
- Declare that they experienced a 40% decline in turnover for the period 1 – 14 February 2022 when compared to the same fortnight in Feb in the same comparison year that was used for January’s decline in turnover
The decline in turnover must be measured on the GST turnover of the business. Therefore, if you report GST on a cash basis (which is the majority of our clients) then you should use the cash basis to determine your decline in turnover.
For businesses not operating on 1 January 2021:
- they must show the equivalent of $75K or more in aggregated turnover
- they must show a decline in turnover in Jan 2022 and 1-14 Feb 2022 when compared with the average aggregated turnover in Q1 and Q2 of the current 2021/22 financial year.
How to apply
- Check you meet the eligibility criteria.
- Have your documentation and evidence ready for uploading.
- Select the ‘Apply online’ button. Note: You can save and resume your application, but if you have not submitted it within 7 days, any details you’ve entered will be deleted.
- Log in, or create your MyServiceNSW Account.
- Follow the prompts to apply for the 2022 Small Business Support Program.
Should you have any questions, require assistance with determining your eligibility, or require a letter from us as supporting evidence, please don’t hesitate to contact your client manager directly or call the office on 02 9716 5120.
