Update as of 8 April 2020: Government support for businesses
Small business loan payments
A Small Business Relief Package has been announced for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. The relief package will defer all principal and interest payments for loans to small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. It is available to businesses in any sector that have business loan facilities up to $10 million.
Banks can defer loan payments for six months and are also offering loans or overdrafts with no repayments for the first six months with low interest rates through an SME loan guarantee.
Any small business who has not already been contacted by their bank about the Small Business Relief Package is being urged to get in touch with their bank. Banks have already begun contacting their customers and the packages have begun rolling out to customers.
JobKeeper payment
If your business has been affected by COVID-19 and you are unable to pay staff, you can access a government subsidy of up to $1,500 per employee for a period of up to six months. This subsidy is already in place. To be eligible, your business needs to have a turnover of less than $1 billion and it needs to have fallen by more than 30. If you have turnover of more than $1 billion it needs to have fallen by 50%.
Eligible employees need to be full-time, part-time or long-time casuals that are at least 16 years of age.
Commercial tenancies
A mandatory commercial tenancies code has been released by the Federal Government and includes measures to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. The code covers businesses that are in financial distress due to COVID-19, have a turnover of less than $50 million and are eligible to receive support under the JobKeeper payment (eligibility for which is outlined above).
Under the code, landlords must not terminate the lease and will be required to reduce leases in proportion to the decline in turnover experienced by the tenant. To do this, landlords can use a mix of rent waivers and rent deferrals, but waivers must account for at least 50%. Any deferral of rent must be spread over the remaining time of the lease and for a period which must not be for less than 24 months.