Earlier this week, the Queensland State Government announced a $10,000 grant program to assist Queensland small businesses. The total program is $100m and will help approximately 10,000 small businesses.

As explained in our previous updates, the JobKeeper enrolment is a three step process:

The JobKeeper program has opened for enrolment from today. Enrolment is the first of a three step process for eligible businesses to claim the JobKeeper Payment.

With the country now being some weeks into the COVID-19 crisis, you may feel inundated with the volume of information and guidance in relation to it.

In conjunction with the Cairns Post, we have launched a website providing videos and resources to help the Cairns business community understand what Government support is available during the COVID-19 crisis.

The ATO have released more information about the JobKeeper Payment, including how the program will be administered. To ensure all of our clients are up to date with the latest developments, we have summarised some key information below.

The JobKeeper Payment announced by the Prime Minister on Monday has been well received by employers and employees struggling through the COVID-19 crisis. We have already had many enquiries from employers about how this scheme will operate. These employers have had many enquiries from their staff. To help everyone understand the proposed scheme, we have detailed answers below to some frequently asked questions and also identified some issues for employers to consider.

As you may be aware, the Federal Government announced this week, a wage subsidy for businesses impacted by COVID-19. The subsidy, known as the JobKeeper Payment, will be a payment made by the Government to businesses who have suffered a significant downturn in income (as a result of COVID-19) to help them retain employees.

The details of two Government backed loan programs, designed to help those businesses suffering from COVID-19, have now been confirmed. One, is a Queensland State Government program to be administered by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA). The other, a Federal Government supported program to be administered by commercial banks.

The COVID-19 crisis continues to escalate quickly impacting all businesses. We expect this crisis will worsen making planning and cashflow management critical for all businesses, not just those in initially impacted industries.