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Micro Business Grant

The 2021 COVID-19 micro-business grant provides cashflow support for micro-businesses in New South Wales who have had their work impacted by the restrictions while continuing to incur business costs.

Applications are now open and close at 11:59pm on 18 October 2021. To apply, visit 2021 COVID-19 micro-business grant and apply via your MyServiceNSW Account. If you do not already have a MyServiceNSW Account or have not linked your business to your existing profile then you will need to do so before applying.

If you’re a micro-business (small business, sole trader or not-for-profit organisation with aggregated annual turnover between $30,000 and $75,000) impacted by the recent COVID-19 restrictions, you may be eligible to apply for a fortnightly payment of $1,500 to cover business expenses for the duration of the Greater Sydney lockdown.

Eligibility

Businesses and not-for-profit organisations impacted by the Public Health Order will be eligible if:

  • they have an Australian Business Number (ABN) as at 1 June 2021 registered in, or can demonstrate they are primarily operating in, New South Wales;
  • they had a national aggregated annual turnover of more than $30,000 and less than $75,000 for the year ended 30 June 2020;
  • they experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the Public Health Order over a minimum 2-week period within the Greater Sydney lockdown (commenced 26 June and due to end 30 July 2021) compared to the same period in 2019
  • they have business costs for which there is no other government support available;
  • they have not applied for either the 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant, or the JobSaver scheme;
  • for employing businesses, they must maintain their employee headcount on 13 July 2021 while they continue to receive grant payments (businesses that do not maintain their headcount agree to notify Service NSW), and
  • for non-employing businesses, the business receiving payments must be the primary income source for the associated person. Individuals with more than one non-employing business may only claim payments for one business.

Non-employing businesses are not eligible to apply if persons associated with the business, and who derive income from it, received a Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payment.

Evidence to Support Eligibility

Eligible businesses applying for the Grant are required to:

  • declare that you meet the eligibility criteria
  • submit evidence they experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the Public Health Order over a minimum 2-week period within the Greater Sydney lockdown (commenced 26 June and due to end 30 July 2021) compared to the same period in 2019. This will in the form of a:
    • letter from a qualified accountant, registered tax agent or registered BAS agent, or
    • business bank account statement (separate from any personal accounts).
  • submit evidence they had an aggregated annual turnover of more than $30,000 and less than $75,000 for the year ended 30 June 2020. This can be in a form of a:
    • letter from a qualified accountant, registered tax agent or registered BAS agent; or
    • business activity statement (BAS); or
    • business bank account statement (separate from any personal accounts); or
    • Australian income tax return (or Notice of Assessment) – businesses can choose to redact their tax file number.
  • if they do not have employees, declare the business is the primary income source for the owner of the business,
  • if they do have employees, declare they will maintain their employee headcount on 13 July 2021 for the period for which the business is receiving grant payments and notify Service NSW if employee headcount declines over the period of the payment due to any actions of the business, and
  • lodge other supporting documents, as required, to demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria.

See the guidelines for more information.

Application Process

Applications are now open and close at 11:59pm on 18 October 2021.

Once deemed eligible, businesses will receive automatic fortnightly payments. Businesses will not need to re-apply, but businesses with employees must notify Service NSW if they are not maintaining the number of employees they had on 13 July 2021.

Payments will be made in arrears with the first payment backdated to 26 June 2021.

Businesses that received the $1,500 Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate can apply for this Grant.

Only one application can be submitted for a single ABN including where there are multiple businesses under a single ABN.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

As always if you have any additional questions or if we can be of assistance in determining your eligibility, collating the financial information required to support your application or providing the accountants letter required please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please note that as this support is being administered by the NSW Government we cannot act as your agent and attend to the application on your behalf.

The information contained on this website and in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser. Taxation, legal and other matters referred to on this website and in this article are of a general nature only and are based on our interpretation of laws existing at the time and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Those laws may change from time to time.

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