Search Grants & Funding

This program supports businesses and Group Training Organisations to take on new apprentices and trainees with the aim of providing skills for economic recovery.

Any business that engages an Australian apprentice between the 5th of October 2020 to the 31st of March 2022 may be eligible. The subsidy is for 50% of wages paid to a new apprentice or trainee. Up to a maximum of $7,000 per quarter is available for 12 months from the date of commencement.

There is no cap on the number of eligible trainees or apprentices.

If you’re a business, sole trader or not-for-profit organisation in NSW and you've been impacted by the recent COVID-19 restrictions, you may be eligible for a one-off grant of $7,500, $10,500 or $15,000.

The 2021 COVID-19 business grant provides cash flow support for businesses that experienced reduced demand or had to close due to the public health orders. Eligible applicants across NSW can use the grant for business costs incurred from 1 June 2021, including:

• utilities, wages and rent
• financial, legal or other advice to support business continuity planning
• marketing and communications activities to develop the business
• the cost of perishable goods that can no longer be used
• other activities to support the operation of the business.

Three different grant amounts will be available depending on the decline in turnover experienced over a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 26 July 2021, compared to the same period in 2019:

• $7,500 for a decline of 30% or more
• $10,500 for a decline of 50% or more
• $15,000 for a decline of 70% or more.

To be eligible for the grant, you must:

• have an active Australian Business Number (ABN)
• demonstrate your business was operating in NSW as at 1 June 2021
• have had total annual Australian wages of $10 million or less as at 1 July 2020
• have had an aggregated annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million (inclusive) for the year ended 30 June 2020
• have business costs for which there is no other government support available
• maintain your employee headcount as at 13 July 2021. See the guidelines for definitions.

Businesses can opt in to defer payroll tax payments on the 2020-21 annual reconciliation return and  tax payable on wages paid in July and August. Interest free repayment plans for up to 12 months will be available.

Eligible businesses can defer their 2020-21 payroll tax reconciliation that is normally due on the 28th of July. Businesses also have the option to defer payments due on 7 August and 7 September until 7 October 2022.

This program is available to all NSW businesses that are required to pay payroll tax.

After lodging their 2021 annual reconciliation, businesses will have the option of paying all of their outstanding liability in full or entering into a new Support Payment Arrangement.

If customers choose to enter into a 2021 Support Payment Arrangement, they will have the option to include tax payable from the 2020/21 annual reconciliation and any monthly liabilities for the July, August and September 2021 return periods

Businesses paying hotel or gaming taxes will be able to defer the taxes for the 2021-22 financial year.

All businesses paying hotel gaming machine tax can defer the June and September quarters until 21 Jan 2022.

All businesses paying club gaming machine tax can defer the August quarter until 21 Dec 2022.

This program provides relief to commercial and residential landowners, who provide a reduction in rent to a tenant who is experiencing financial distress as a result of COVID-19.

It is intended to reduce a landowner’s land tax payable for 2021, by up to 100%, for a taxable parcel of land where rent relief has been given to the tenant who occupies that land.

The NSW Government has also introduced a Residential Tenancy Support Payment for properties tenanted in NSW. A property is only able to receive either the 2021 land tax COVID-19 relief or the Residential Tenancy Support Payment. 

The Residential Tenancy Support Payment provides up to $1500 per tenancy agreement. This grant will be available for landlords who agree to reduce the rent for COVID-19 impacted tenants from 14 July 2021. The rent reduction agreement can run longer than the 60-day moratorium period (i.e. beyond September 11) if the tenant and landlord agree.

The amount for each landlord will be capped at the reduction that is passed onto the tenants, or $1500, whichever is the lower.

Landlords cannot ask tenants to repay the reduced amount of rent that has been paid to them under the Residential Tenancy Support Payment

The Residential Aged Care Employee Support Grant seeks to support the Residential Aged Care Sector in ensuring that all staff within a residential aged care facility are able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine whilst minimising the financial impact on the residential aged care provider and the individual employee.

The program will contribute towards costs incurred by eligible residential aged care providers (Providers) supplying or facilitating COVID-19 vaccinations for staff. Providers can apply for financial support in any or all of the following three categories:

• Category 1: payment for each casual staff member’s off-site vaccination (maximum of 2 doses/payments per casual staff member). This payment is a contribution towards the time casual staff are absent from the facility to receive their COVID-19 vaccination at an off-site vaccination clinic; and/or
• Category 2: one day of paid leave for casual staff (not eligible for entitlements) receiving an on or off-site vaccination, who were rostered on for a shift within 24 - 48 hrs after receiving a vaccination, but suffered side effects from the vaccination and were unable to attend work for this reason; and/or
• Category 3: facilitation of either on or off-site vaccinations for all staff (e.g. transport costs or arranging for groups of staff to be vaccinated off-site).

Providers must ensure payments received under categories one and two are provided to casual staff members in full.
Eligible staff members include:

• Categories 1, 2 and 3: casual staff for whom the residential aged care facility is their primary place of work in the aged care sector and have been rostered on in the preceding four weeks, unless they were on annual or sick leave.
• Category 3: all staff directly employed by the Provider.

The financial support available is dependent on the category as follows:

• Category 1 - A payment per dose for each casual staff member’s off-site vaccination (maximum of 2 doses/payments per casual staff member)- $80.00
• Category 2 - One day of paid leave per casual staff member suffering from side effects following a COVID-19 vaccination - $185.00
• Category 3 - A payment per residential aged care facility to facilitate staff vaccinations (either on or off-site) - $500.00

The Instant Asset Write-Off provides businesses with an asset write-off of up to $150,000 for assets costing less than the instant asset write-off threshold which are purchased and used in the year that the write-off is claimed.

To be eligible, your business must have an aggregated turnover of less than $500M. The asset must cost less than the instant write-off threshold, and be purchased and used in the year that the write-off is claimed.

A time limited 15 month investment incentive to support business investment and economic growth over the short term, by accelerating depreciation deductions. This applies to eligible assets acquired from 12 March 2020 and first used or installed by 30 June 2021. Businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million will be able to deduct 50 per cent of the cost of an eligible asset on installation, with existing depreciation rules applying to the balance of the asset cost.

This will provide businesses with funding to meet immediate cash flow needs, by further enhancing lenders’ willingness and ability to provide credit. Businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million will be eligible to receive these loans.

The Australian Government is temporarily increasing the threshold at which creditors can issue a statutory demand on a company and the time companies have to respond to statutory demands they receive. The package also includes temporary relief for directors from any personal liability for trading while insolvent.  The Corporations Act 2001 will be amended to provide temporary and targeted relief for companies to deal with unforeseen events that arise as a result of the Coronavirus.

Round Two of the Program will provide a payment to assist travel agents and inbound tour operators and tour wholesalers (tour arrangement service providers, consistent with ANZSIC code 7220) (Eligible Businesses) who have been disproportionately impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses must meet all eligibility requirements and have received payment under Round One to be eligible for Round Two of the program, unless an exceptional circumstances decision applies. 

Round Two applicants must:

• Been eligible for, and received a Round One payment
• Have a business’ Round One turnover figure was not based on Total Transaction Value
• Be solvent and intends to continue to operate for the April to June 2021 quarter
• Make best endeavours to retain your staff; and to meet your obligations to process refunds and travel credits to Australian consumers.

Due to COVID-19, a significant portion of aviation ground handling staff have not worked since March 2020 and due to this long period of negligible flying activity, the ground handling workforce is likely to require retraining and re-accreditation to ensure safety standards are maintained for all flights.

Noting that ground handling organisations service all aspects of aviation, the Program will provide capped grants to eligible businesses to contribute to mandatory training, certification, and accreditation of ground handling workers essential for the operation of aircraft. This contribution will set a floor to ensure that the sector is in a position to respond as domestic flying activity recovers. It is anticipated that the Program will cover approximately 30% of the training requirements of the pre-COVID workforce.

Training support would be available for both new and existing employees, as required to support aviation recovery.

The JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme is an incentive for businesses to employ additional young job seekers aged 16–35 years.

Eligible employers can access the JobMaker Hiring Credit for each eligible additional employee they hire between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021.

Eligible employers:

• can claim payments in arrears from 1 February 2021 (see JobMaker Hiring Credit key dates)
• can claim payments for eligible additional employees for up to 12 months from their employment start date
• cannot claim JobKeeper and the JobMaker Hiring Credit payment at the same time
• can estimate the payment they may receive by using the JobMaker Hiring Credit payment estimator (excel file)

The COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program (the program) will provide a one-off payment in financial year 2020-21 to assist travel agents and tour arrangement service providers who have been disproportionately impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.