Partners to rely on

First Stimulus Package

First Stimulus Package

First Stimulus Package

The Tasmanian government has released a stimulus package which includes:

  • $250 payments for individuals or up to $1,000 for families for those who are required by Public Health to self-isolate as a result of the coronavirus. Eligibility includes those with a Health Care Card or a Pensioners Concession Card and those on low incomes who can demonstrate a need for financial support, including casual workers.
  • $20 million in loans to small businesses in the hospitality, tourism, seafood production, and exports sectors. The loans will be available to businesses with a turnover of less than $5 million to purchase equipment or restructuring business operations and will be interest free, for three years. The loans will close to new applications at 5pm on Monday 11th May.
  • Payroll tax liabilities will be waived for hospitality, tourism and seafood industry businesses for the last four months of 2019-20. Other businesses with payrolls of up to $5 million will be able to apply, based on the impact of virus, to have their payroll tax waived for April to June 2020.
  • A payroll tax rebate for one year, to businesses that employ a young person aged 24 and under, between April and December 2020.
  • The targeted Small Business Grants Program provides a $5,000 grant for businesses that hire an apprentice or trainee in the tourism, hospitality, building and construction, and manufacturing industries.
  • To assist with small business cash flow, the Tasmanian Government will:
    • Pay bills sooner: unless otherwise required by contractual arrangements, payment terms by Government agencies will be reduced from 30 days to 14 days; and
    • Give small businesses more time to pay their bills: unless otherwise required by contractual arrangements, small businesses will be provided extended payment terms to Government from 30 days to 90 days.
  • Free workplace relations advice from Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) to support businesses affected by COVID-19 to manage their obligations in relation to industrial relations issues. Support may include (but not limited to):
    • Advice in regards to industrial instruments - Modern Award, Enterprise Agreements etc.
    • Modern Award coverage and interpretation
    • Rates of pay, loadings, penalties and allowances
    • Leave entitlements/accruals – annual, personal, parental and long service leave
    • Obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009
    • Record keeping requirements
    • Support and advice to manage workforce contraction such as contract variations, stand downs, redundancies, etc.
    • Development and implementation of policies and advice in relation to:
    • Leave
    • Flexible work arrangements
    • Working from home
    • Stand down
    • Isolation
    • WHS
    • Hygiene
    • Duty of care implications
    • Provision of advice on employee management including business closure and risk management

The TCCI can be contacted on their Business Hotline: 1300 599 112 or via their website.

A full list of Tasmanian government stimulus measures is available here.



DISCLAIMER:

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

The content of this newsletter is general in nature. It does not constitute specific advice and readers are encouraged to consult their Ruddicks adviser on any matters of interest. Ruddicks accepts no liability for errors or omissions, or for any loss or damage suffered as a result of any person acting without such advice. This information is current as at 26 March 2020, and was published around that time. Ruddicks particularly accepts no obligation or responsibility for updating this publication for events, including changes to the law, the Australian Taxation Office’s interpretation of the law, or Government announcements arising after that time.

Any advice provided is not ‘financial product advice’ as defined by the Corporations Act. Ruddicks is not licensed to provide financial product advice and taxation is only one of the matters that you need to consider when making a decision on a financial product. You should consider seeking advice from an Australian Financial Services licensee before making any decisions in relation to a financial product. © Ruddicks 2020


Subscribe to the latest, easy to understand advice