Victorian Business Support Fund

The Victorian Government has announced that Stage 3 ‘Stay at Home’ will be in reinstated across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire from 11:59 on 8 July 2020 to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Victoria. These restrictions will be in place for six weeks and will then be reviewed by the Chief Health Officer.

The return to Stay at Home restrictions mean that businesses within metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire such as restaurants, cafes, pubs, gyms, indoor sporting venues, cinemas, live music, entertainment venues and other businesses are either restricted in their operations or can no longer operate.

Businesses within metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire that are affected by the return to Stay at Home restrictions may be eligible for a one-off, $5,000 grant under the Business Support Fund – Expansion program.

Applications for the program close on 19 August 2020.

This program is in addition to the first round of the Business Support Fund, which closed on 1 June 2020.

Eligible businesses must:

operate a business located in metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire
be a participant in the JobKeeper Payment scheme
employ people
be registered with WorkSafe on 30 June 2020
have an annual payroll of less than $3 million in 2019-20 on an ungrouped basis
be registered for GST as at 30 June 2020
hold an ABN & have held that ABN at 30 June 2020
be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator.

Businesses that have received funding from other components of the Victorian Government’s Economic Survival Package are eligible to apply for this program.

Business owners that do not employ people (non-employing businesses) are not eligible for funding through this program.

What next?

Similar to JobKeeper, you can either do this yourself, or engage us to take care of this grant on your behalf.

If you are doing this yourself, you will need to provide in your application:

JobKeeper receipt number (ask us and we will email it to you)
Most recent JobKeeper business monthly declaration
Utility bill/lease agreement/council rates (to prove you are in Metro Melbourne)
WorkCover ID number (to prove you have employees)
Information about your trust if you are in one
Explanation of why you have been affected by the lockdown

More information about this Government grant can be found here.
Please let us know asap so we can get started.