Applications for the one-off 2021 Covid-19 Business Support Grant are now open for NSW businesses and close at 11:59pm on 13 September 2021. The new JobSaver scheme and Micro-business Covid-19 Support Grant programs are not open as yet, nor has the eligibility criteria been published. At this stage we expect further details to be announced by 23 July with applications opening on 26 July.

The Covid-19 Business Support Grant will be administered by ServiceNSW and businesses must prove they have suffered a decline in turnover over a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 17 July 2021 compared to the same period in June and or July 2019. If you were not operating in 2019, businesses need to contact ServiceNSW to discuss their individual circumstances.

To be eligible for the grant, you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and been operating in New South Wales as at 1 June 2021;
• have total annual Australian group wages of $10 million or less as at 1 July 2020;
• had an aggregated annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million (inclusive) for the year ended 30 June 2020;
• have business costs for which there is no other government support available;
• have experienced a decline in turnover* due to the Public Health Orders over a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 17 July 2021 compared to the same period in June and/or July 2019;
• maintain your employee headcount as at 13 July 2021 for the period for which the business is receiving payments under this Grant and the JobSaver scheme.

*Eligible businesses (including non-employing businesses such as non-employing sole traders) and not-for-profits can apply for a one-off grant. Payment is dependent on the reduction in turnover suffered:

If you meet the eligibility criteria you will need to provide evidence to support your application which includes:

• declare you experienced the required decline in turnover due to the Public Health Orders over a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 17 July 2021 compared to the same period in June and/or July 2019;
• declare you have eligible expenses for which no other government support is available. Note – you will not be required to provide evidence of costs on application (e.g. invoices) but will need to keep evidence of costs for a possible future audit;
• declare your employee headcount at 13 July 2021;
• declare you will maintain your employee headcount as at 13 July 2021 for the period for which the business is receiving payments under this Grant and the JobSaver scheme;
• provide details of your qualified accountant, registered tax agent or registered BAS agent for possible compliance checking;
• submit an Australian Income Tax Return (or Notice of Assessment) or other documentation to demonstrate their business had an aggregated annual turnover of between $75,000 and $50 million (inclusive) for the year ended 30 June 2020; and
• lodge other supporting documents as required to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility criteria including a letter from ESV Business advice and accounting.

Please note we are finding the ability to ‘apply online’ with ServiceNSW is currently showing the message “This transaction is not available at this time. Try again later.” As such, given the restricted availability to lodge and online application you should ensure that you are ready.  To do this please ensure you have done the following:

• ensure your business and contact details are up-to-date with the Australian Business Register (ABR)
• ensure your personal, contact and business details are up-to-date in your MyServiceNSW Account and your business profile
• if you don’t have one, create a MyServiceNSW Account and business profile.

ESV Engagement Partners are here to assist our clients in getting the wheels in motion to apply for the Covid-19 Business Support Grant – please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.