The South Australian Business Chamber Today — Thursday 16 September, 2021
The South Australian Business Chamber has been a constant advocate for further supports for the most affected industries during the pandemic, and recently wrote to the State Government in partnership with the AHA and TicSA, outlining the dire need for more assistance to the Hospitality, Tourism and Events Industry impacted by ongoing border closures.
This week, a jointly funded package from the State and Federal Governments aiming to support small and medium sized tourism and hospitality related businesses was announced, seeing an additional $15m in grants extended to an estimated 3,500 businesses across the state.
Eligible businesses that have experienced a turnover decline of 30% during specific periods (including performing arts, creative artists, taxis, and car rental) now have access to one off payments of:
Top-up grants of $3,000 for employing businesses and $1,000 for non-employing businesses will be automatically paid to businesses in eligible tourism and hospitality sectors that have already received the COVID-19 ‘Additional Business Support Grant’.
There are also new ‘Business Hardship Grants’ of $6,000 for employing businesses with annual payrolls below $10m, and $2,000 for non-employing businesses, that have experienced a minimum of 50% reduction in turnover during particular periods but have not been eligible for previous business supports since July 2021.
Further, the South Australian Government has increased its Major Events Support Grant to $100,000 for cancelled or postponed events, where attendees were expected to be greater than 10,000. This is a very significant increase and recognises the significant costs incurred by large events cancelled at late notice due to COVID restrictions and responds to the South Australian Business Chamber’s ongoing advocacy on this front.
Eligible events that applied for the initial $25,000 grant may receive a top up of a further $75,000 to equal a total $100,000.
