An automatic top-up to the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund announced on 4 September 2021 provides an additional $6,000 to eligible small and medium businesses that have already received a grant through this program.
You do not need to apply or take any further action. An automatic top-up payment of $6,000 will be made to your nominated bank account.
The Victorian Government’s Small Business COVID Hardship Fund assists eligible small and medium businesses:
This includes businesses that are able to operate but COVID‑19 restrictions preclude them from generating revenue, for example:
Eligible businesses will receive $20,000 under the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund. The total grant amount increased from $14,000 to $20,000 on 4 September 2021. Businesses that have already received a grant through this program will receive an automatic top-up payment of $6,000 into their nominated bank account.
Eligible businesses must demonstrate a reduction in turnover of at least 70% for a minimum consecutive two-week period between 27 May 2021 and 10 September 2021 (Impacted Period) as a direct consequence of COVID‑19 restrictions, comparable to a benchmark period in 2019.
Businesses must choose similar dates for the Benchmark Period and the Impacted Period unless there are exceptional reasons as to why a different time is chosen.
If applicants choose a starting date in 2019 that is more than 3 days earlier or later than the starting date in 2021, the application may require further information to substantiate the exceptional reasons.
Applicants may choose a longer consecutive period, however if a longer period for the Impacted Period is used, applicants must use the same length of time for the Benchmark Period.
The Small Business COVID Hardship Fund is intended to support those businesses that have been severely impacted by COVID‑19 restrictions and have not recently received support under other Victorian Government COVID‑19 business programs.
In particular, the program aims to provide support to businesses that have been permitted to operate (and are therefore ineligible for previous Victorian Government COVID support programs) but COVID‑19 restrictions preclude them from generating revenue, for example:
You can choose to apply for this program in one of three ways:
Eligible businesses must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 70% for a minimum consecutive two-week period since 27 May 2021 as a direct consequence of COVID‑19 restrictions, comparable to a benchmark period in 2019, and have not received funding through other Victorian Government COVID‑19 business support programs launched on or after 27 May 2021.
Eligible businesses must also meet a minimum turnover threshold of $501 dollars or more within their benchmark period.
This includes businesses that are able to operate but COVID‑19 restrictions preclude them from generating revenue, for example:
The Small Business COVID Hardship Fund was established to assist small to medium businesses whose operations were severely impacted by COVID restrictions and experienced at least a 70% reduction in turnover as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. The provision of a $20,000 grant to businesses whose turnover for the benchmark period is less than $501 is disproportionate to their annual turnover and the associated operating expenses of these businesses.
Businesses are not eligible to receive a Small Business COVID Hardship Fund grant if they have received support under any of the Victorian Government COVID‑19 support packages launched on or after 27 May 2021, including:
This list may be updated at any time to reflect changes to COVID‑19 business support packages.
If you are awaiting the outcome of another application to a key COVID‑19 Victorian Government business grant program, you may apply for a grant under this program but your existing application to another program will be considered first.
This may delay the outcome of an application to this program.
The Victorian Government recognises that businesses may have received Commonwealth Government support to date. This does not affect your eligibility to apply for the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund.
However, before applying for this program, you should check the eligibility requirements of the Commonwealth Government’s COVID‑19 Disaster Payment as a successful application to the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund may impact access to financial support from the Commonwealth.
This program requires a business to be registered for GST because it shows the business was actively trading before 28 July 2021 and is a genuine operation, which the owner and their employees or contractors rely on for income.
We acknowledge that businesses not registered for GST have also been significantly impacted by COVID‑19 restrictions. These businesses should explore the support available through the Commonwealth Government.
This is consistent with previous COVID‑19 support programs, including the Business Support Fund rounds two and three, the Sole Trader Support Fund (which supported non-employing businesses, including sole traders) and the Business Costs Assistance Program.
A business must register for GST when it has a GST turnover (gross income minus GST) of $75,000 or more.
Not-for-profit entities with annual turnover between $75,000 and $150,000, which are not registered for GST and are registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission are eligible to apply.
More information on whether you need to register for GST is available on the Australian Taxation Office website.
No, you must be registered for GST as of 28 July 2021 and meet all the eligibility criteria to receive a grant under this program. Businesses that backdate their GST registration date are not eligible.
The only exceptions are:
Please consult a registered tax agent or the Australian Taxation Office if you need more information about whether your business falls under either of these categories.
For the purposes of this program, you will need to ensure your GST registration was active on 28 July 2021. More information about this is available on the Australian Taxation Office website.
Evidence of the reduction in turnover must be attested to by a qualified agent. The Department may at its discretion validate any information provided with the Qualified Agent and the Australian Taxation Office as part of the assessment process or for future audits. If a qualified agent is not applying on your behalf, your application must include a signed copy of this Small Business COVID Hardship Fund – Letter from the Qualified Agent template (DOCX 51.23 KB) in PDF format, on the Qualified Agent's letterhead.
You may be asked to produce the following evidence:
Applicants who do not have access to a qualified agent and who receive an application form via email from the department to apply will need to submit the following with their application:
Applicants will need to provide the same type of document for both the Impacted and the Benchmark Period, otherwise the application will be deemed ineligible.
A qualified agent is either a:
and complies with the body’s continuing professional education requirements; or
and complies with the body’s continuing professional education requirements; or
and complies with the body’s continuing professional education requirements.
The qualified agent cannot be an employee or director of the applicant, or an associated entity of the applicant, or a director or employee of an associated entity of the applicant.
To find a qualified agent that can support your application to the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund, please consult the websites of these professional bodies:
Yes. Business owners (as listed on the Australian Business Register) who do not have access to a qualified agent can register their interest for the program.
Applicants may receive an application form via email from the department.
You will still need to provide the required evidence to demonstrate more than a 70% reduction in turnover.
Applications received directly from business owners who do not have a qualified agent may take up to 25 business days to process, due to the need for additional verification measures.
Turnover is measured as the GST turnover of the business.
GST turnover is the total business income (not profit) minus:
For more detail refer to guidance available on the Australian Taxation Office website.
Businesses should not alter their usual accounting method, whether it be cash or accrual, when calculating their reduction in turnover.
Applicant businesses should use the same method they would normally use to populate the “G1 Total sales” field in their business activity statements.
To determine if your business has experienced a 70% reduction in turnover:
Reduction in turnover % = [1 - (GST turnover in Impacted Period/GST turnover in Benchmark Period)] x 100
If the reduction in turnover (as calculated using this formula) is less than 70%, then your business is not eligible for this program.
Businesses must choose similar dates for the Benchmark Period and the Impacted Period unless there are exceptional reasons as to why a different time is chosen.
If applicants choose a starting date in 2019 that is more than 3 days earlier or later than the starting date in 2021, the application may require further information to substantiate the exceptional reasons.
If your business was not operational in 2019, you can compare to a two-week period between 1 February 2021 and 28 July 2021.
To show your business experienced a reduction in turnover of 70% or more over a consecutive two-week period since 27 May 2021, you can compare to a minimum two-week period between 1 February 2021 and 28 July 2021.
The benchmark period should generally be the similar time of the year as the impacted period unless there are exceptional circumstances that affected your turnover, for example:
In these circumstances, you can demonstrate evidence of a reduction in turnover of 70% or more over a consecutive two-week period since 27 May 2021 by comparing to a minimum two-week period of normal trading activity between 1 February 2021 and 28 July 2021. The Department may at its discretion validate any information provided with the Qualified Agent and the Australian Taxation Office as part of the assessment process or for future audits.
Businesses that have experienced a change in ownership since the 2019 Benchmark Period can demonstrate a reduction in turnover of 70 per cent or more over a consecutive two-week period since 27 May 2021 by comparing to a minimum two-week period of normal trading activity under the current ownership.
As a qualified agent, you are required to confirm that as a direct consequence of COVID‑19 restrictions in place since 27 May 2021, the applicant has experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 70% for a minimum consecutive two-week period (Impacted Period) comparable to a Benchmark Period in 2019 (or the alternative period).
The business is required to inform you that the financial information they have provided to calculate this reduction in turnover is consistent with normal business practice and has not been adjusted for the purpose of receiving a grant from the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund.
You are not required to conduct an audit or assurance engagement to verify the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the information the client has provided to you.
However, you should sense check the information and ensure the client has reasonable grounds and evidence to support their claim, and document the information provided to you.
You should also inform your clients of their obligation to keep complete and accurate documentation to support their eligibility and that they may be subject to an audit by the department.
You must provide details of a current proof of identity document. This must be one of the following:
Update your contact details by following the steps outlined in our Proof of Identity Verification User Guide.
Download a copy of these instructions: Updating Proof of Identity Details in Grant Hub forms (PDF 633.93 KB)
If you are an employing business, you will need to include your unique WorkCover Employer Number (WEN) on your application.
Your WEN can be found on the top right-hand corner of your 2020-21 invoice from WorkSafe Victoria. Your WEN is also printed on your WorkSafe Certificate of Currency. Note you do not need to provide your certificate of currency when applying for this grant.
If you have only recently applied to be registered with WorkSafe and do not have a WEN, please provide the WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN) instead.
Non-employing businesses do not need to provide a WEN on their application.
If you have only recently applied to be registered with WorkSafe and do not have a WEN, please provide the WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN) instead.
A WRN is issued in the format of NR-XXXXXX-XXXXXX when you submit an online application for WorkCover insurance. It appears in printable form once the application is submitted. You will also receive an email with the number.
When your WEN is issued, your information will be updated in our systems automatically and we will progress your application. You do not need to take any action.
Please note that applications with a WRN may take longer to process because the WorkCover registration process must be complete before we can start assessing your application.
Employing businesses applying for the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund must:
We know these are difficult times for many businesses and workers. The attestation aims to confirm that employing businesses are making reasonable efforts to support their workers.
Businesses who are making reasonable efforts to support their workers should apply. Grants must be used to assist the business, including by meeting business costs such as wages.
Funding will be allocated through a grant application process.
Each application will be carefully considered and assessed against the eligibility criteria.
Only final applications that are lodged with the department will be considered and assessed. Applications in draft stage will not be considered.
The status of your application will appear in the Business Victoria Grants Portal as one of the following:
From the time you submit your application, the department will endeavour to provide you with notifications on the progress of your application.
Please note, we cannot contact you while your application remains in ‘draft’ as you haven’t yet given permission for the department to use your contact details.
We endeavour to process your application and notify you of a successful outcome within 15 business days of receiving a completed application.
Applications received directly from business owners who do not have a qualified agent may take up to 25 business days to process, due to the need for additional verification measures.
For the purposes of this program, business days are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
If a qualified agent applied on your behalf, they will be notified of the outcome of your application. If you submitted the application yourself, you will be notified directly.
It may take longer to notify you of an outcome if your application:
Once we advise you of your successful application, your grant will be paid into your nominated bank account. Depending on your bank, it may take up to five business days for the payment to reach your account.
Grants to successful applicants will be paid into the bank account nominated on the application form. Depending on your bank, it may take up to five business days for the payment to reach your account.
Grant funds must be used to assist the business, for example to:
No, the grant is capped at $20,000 per eligible business.
