The Tasmanian Liberal Government recognises that the forestry sector will be a leader in the state’s recovery from COVID-19 and so it has announced that an additional $20 million will go to help small businesses. This brings support for small business to $80 million, forming a significant component of its COVID-support package. Source: Timberbiz
Small business is the cornerstone of the forestry sector and one of the state’s biggest employers.
During the past few weeks the Government has been meeting with numerous small business operators, including through a series of regional roundtables, to hear first-hand their experiences and needs to support recovery.
This feedback, along with the recommendations made by the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council (PESRAC) in its first report, has informed the development of the new $20 million COVID-19 Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Assistance Package.
The new COVID-19 Small Business funding includes $17 million in grants that will directly help local operators, and $3 million to enhance existing small business support programs and provide additional mental health support.
The $17 million includes applications for the $15 million Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Grant program, which will opened at 12 noon on 3 August 2020 and will close at 12 noon on 24 August 2020, with application details for an additional $2 million in a second round of the Small Business Continuity Grant program to be announced shortly.
The purpose of the Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Grant program is to assist small businesses across a number of sectors to sustain themselves, recover, re-open, build capacity and innovate while continuing to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program will specifically support those eligible small businesses that:
- Operate in sectors that are heavily reliant on the visitor economy and will continue to be directly or indirectly impacted by border closures; OR
- Continue to be significantly impacted directly or indirectly by public health restrictions; OR
- Are reliant on contributing to the local supply chain of sectors that continue to be directly or indirectly impacted by border closures or public health restrictions; OR
- Are heavily reliant on exporting a significant proportion of their product to interstate and/or international markets that continue to be directly or indirectly impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions.
The Tasmanian Government has delivered the largest economic and social rescue package in Australia, proportionate to Gross State Product, including more than $60 million towards small business support grant programs, which has provided more than 18,200 grants to Tasmanian small businesses across the state.
The COVID-19 Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Assistance Package now takes the small business support and stimulus package to more than $80 million, the largest in Tasmanian history.
For further information go to www.business.tas.gov.au or call 1800 440 026.
