A significant COVID-19 support package for households and businesses valued at $5.1 billion was jointly announced by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian and the NSW Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, on 13 July 2021. Additional information was provided in a media statement by the Prime Minister on 14 July 2021, with further details still to be released.

This follows the continuing outbreak in NSW that has led to lockdowns in Greater Sydney and surrounds (Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour), and which has now extended into Victoria, leading to lockdowns in Australia’s second most-populous state.

The extensive support package takes the form of:

• COVID-19 Disaster Payments;
• small and medium business support payments;
• Commonwealth business tax relief;
• COVID-19 business grants;
• micro business grants;
• payroll tax relief;
• land tax relief;
• an eviction moratorium for residential tenants;
• changed rules for commercial and retail tenants;
• childcare gap-fee waiver; and
• mental health support.

Businesses can register their interest in the COVID-19 business financial support programs.

Commonwealth co-funded measures and declared hotspots

Two measures — COVID-19 Disaster Payments and JobSaver payments — will be:

• funded under a 50/50 cost sharing arrangement between the Commonwealth and the state or territory government; and
• available nationally to any state or territory in areas that are subject to a declaration of a Commonwealth hotspot and to state or territory lockdown restrictions.

COVID-19 Disaster Payments will be available even where a lockdown is less than seven days. JobSaver payments will be available nationally to any state or territory that experiences an extended lockdown beyond week three following the declaration of a Commonwealth hotspot.

To date, Commonwealth hotpots have been declared only in NSW and Victoria, however future outbreaks in other states and territories leading to lockdowns are possible, even likely.

The initial seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) locked down on 23 June 2021 — Bayside, City of Sydney, Canada Bay, Inner West, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra — were declared a Commonwealth hotspot from 23 June 2021 to 9 July 2021.

The following LGAs have been declared a Commonwealth hotspot from 26 June 2021 to 30 July 2021:

For detailed information on the support package and what it means for your clients, download our member exclusive report below.

Download the report

This report is a resource for The Tax Institute's members. If you'd like to become a member, to access this and leading resources like it, explore membership options today.