Support Measures for Transport

Tasmanian Government

BUSINESS TASMANIA

The Business Tasmania site includes a list of COVID-19 Business Support, Grants and Loans available.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY GRANT

To assist small buisness fight the economic impact of COVID-19 and prepare the foundation to set Tasmania up for a rapid recovery when the situation eases, one-off grants of up to $750 are available through the Business Continuity Grant.  Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

BUSINESS SUPPORT LOAN SCHEME

Loans from $20000 up to $250000 are available to assist eligible businesses for the purpose of supporting business continuity, viability and sustainability during the Coronavirus period.  Loans are now open.   Key points include:

  • interest-free for 3 years, then State Growth commercial loan interest rate applies, maximum 5 year loans
  • available to businesses with turnover of $10 million or less
  • available for purchase of business plan and equipment, improving distribution channels and online shopping accessibility, implementing initiatives to improve the sustainability and viability of the business, ensuring essential business continuity is maintained.
  • available for eligible businesses in hospitality, touris, seafood export sectors, related supply chain businesses and businesses in other sectors of the economy that can demonstrate they have been materially impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak.

Click the button below for the Fact Sheet, Guidelines and Application Process

BUSINESS VEHICLE REGISTRATION RELIEF

To support significantly impacted Tasmanian small businesses, business vehicle registration savings and deferrals are now available.  This includes a registration freeze for light and heavy vehicles, including heavy vehicle registration and motor tax waivers for 12 months, for businesses significantly affected by COVID-19.

Click the button below for the Fact Sheet which has a link to the website for application.

PAYROLL TAX WAIVERS

The State Revenue Office has issued advice on 27 March about Payroll Tax Waivers and Rebates, as follows:

A – Payroll Tax Waiver – Australian Group Wages of up to $5.0 million annually

this measure provides a waiver of Payroll Tas for the entire financial year of 2019-20 for all approved Tasmanian employers with Australian Group Wages up to $5M for 2019-20; and who can demonstrate that their operations have been affected by COVID-19

B – Payroll Tax Waiver for the Hospitality, Tourism and Seafood Industries

this measure provides a waiver of Payroll Tas (on relevant industry wages) for the entire financial year of 2019-20 for Tasmanian hospitality, tourism and seafood industry employers.

C – Payroll Tax Rebate New youth Employees aged 24 years and under

this measure provides a twelve-month payroll tax rebate to approved employers for new youth employees (aged 24 years and under).  New youth employees must be employed at a point between 1 April and 31 December 2020

More information on these three Payroll Tax measures will be published by the State Revenue Office but a summary of these measures is set out in the information sheet at the button below.

Click the button below for the Fact Sheet which has a link to the website for application.

LAND TAX WAIVER

The State Revenue Office has issued advice on 27 March about a Land Tax Waiver, as follows:

Land Tax Waiver for Commercial Property in Tasmania

Land Tax will be waived for commercial property for the 2020-21 financial year, where the business owner:

  • is liable for the land tax; and
  • can demonstrate that their business operations have been affected by COVID-19

“Commercial property” refers to property classified as such for government valuation purposes.

The State Revenue Office will publish more details on this in due course.

SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY SUPPORT GRANT

To assist affected small businesses in the identified severely impacted industries, grants of $2500 are available through the Department of State Growth as one-off emergency support payments.

Eligibility conditions apply and include: small businesses in severely impacted industries include seafood, tourism & accommodation, hospitality, retail, arts and entertainment, fitness plus suppliers to these sectors who derive the majority of their income from these sectors, and exporter (any business who in 2018-19 derived the majority of the income from international exports).  Small businesses must employ fewer than 20 full time equivalent employees (casual or part time) on or before 31 January 2020, have been operating their buisness (not a hobby or charity) on or before 31 January 2020, be registered for tax purposes in Australia with an ABN.

Click the button below for the Fact Sheet, guidelines and application process.

REMOTE DRIVER LICENCE RENEWALS

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the need to minimise person-to-person contact, we have introduced remote driver’s licence renewals.

This means Tasmanians do not have to attend a Service Tasmania shopfront in person.

For those whose driver’s licences are due for renewal between April 1 and September 30, 2020, this can now be done from home using BPAY through Service Tasmania on 1300 13 55 13 or by email to tes@stategrowth.tas.gov.au

During this period, new licences will feature the existing licence photograph used on the driver’s old licence.

Tasmanians over 65 whose licences are due to be renewed before September 30, 2020 will have their licences automatically renewed for free. This is an additional safety measure for this higher risk age group.

Licences will be posted to the driver’s recorded home address by Department of State Growth. If you have changed your address recently, please contact Service Tasmania to update you contact details.

For those Tasmanians who currently require a medical test to renew their licence, this will be deferred for the present time, unless it is for a potentially dangerous condition that requires ongoing monitoring to ensure fitness to drive.

This removes the need for these drivers to visit a doctor’s surgery when not completely necessary.

For each of these changes, all risk has been assessed as low and any potential higher risk individual cases will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you are in the process of re-entering the driving licensing system, please contact the Department of State Growth on tes@stategrowth.tas.gov.au to be assigned a case manager to support you.

RAPID RESPONSE SKILLS INITIATIVE

The Rapid Response Skills Initiative provides support to individuals who have lost their job as a result of COVID-19 to access immediate support to connect to work or training.  An additional $6.3 million is being made available for this purpose.

More information is below, or contact TTA for support.

WorkSafe Tasmania COVID-19 Information

WORKSAFE TASMANIA COVID-19 INFORMATION

COVID-19 has been recognised as a disease for the purposes of the Tasmanian workers compensation arrangements.  WorkSafe Tasmania provides a range of information on a specific COVID-19 site for employers and advises that employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons.

Click the button below for more information.

Other Industry Response and Support

SLP – IDENTIFICATION CARD EXPIRY EXTENSION

Due to the current issues regarding COVID-19 SLP has been requested to assist by limiting the number of drivers entering terminals for non-essential purposes.
Entering a terminal to conduct an SLP ID training renewal assessment is not regarded as essential in our country’s current situation.

Click the button below for more information.

Australian Government

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONSE MEASURES

The Government is acting decisively in the national interest to support households and businesses and address the significant economic consequences of the Coronavirus.

While the full economic effects from the virus remain uncertain, the outlook has deteriorated since the Government’s initial Economic Response announced on 12 March 2020.

The spread of the virus worldwide has broadened, and is expected to be more prolonged. Governments, both international and domestic, have announced stricter mitigation measures to slow the spread of the virus, which are having significant economic impacts.

On 30 March, the Government announced the $130 billion JobKeeper Payment to help keep Australians in jobs as we deal with the significant economic impact from the Coronavirus. This brings the Government’s total support for the economy to $320 billion across the forward estimates, representing 16.4 per cent of annual GDP.

The Government’s economic response targets three areas:

  • Supporting Individuals and Households
  • Support for Businesses
  • Supporting the flow of credit

Click the button below for more information including links to programs under each of the three response target areas.

JOBKEEPER PAYMENT

Under the JobKeeper Payment, businesses significantly impacted by COVID-19 will be able to access a government wage subsidy of $1500 per fortnight per employee for up to six months. It is a flat $1500 regardless of what the employee is paid. Employers (including not-for-profits) will be eligible for the subsidy if:

  • their business has a turnover of less than $1 billion and their turnover will be reduced by more than 30 per cent relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month); or
  • their business has a turnover of $1 billion or more and their turnover will be reduced by more than 50 per cent relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month); and
  • the business is not subject to the Major Bank Levy.

To receive the JobKeeper Payment, employers must:

  • Register an intention to apply for the scheme with the ATO online
  • Assess that they have or will experienced the required turnover decline listed above
  • Provide information to the ATO on the number of eligible employees engaged as at 1 March 2020 and those currently employed by the business (including those stood down or rehired). For most employers, the ATO will use Single Touch Payroll data to pre-populate the employee details for the business.
  • Ensure each eligible employee receives at least $1500 per fortnight before tax. Employees earning more than $1500 before tax per fortnight, will continue to receive their regular income, with the employer receiving $1500 per fortnight as a subsidy. Employees ordinarily receiving less than $1500 per fortnight before tax, must be paid $1500 per fortnight by their employer.
  • Notify all eligible employees that they are receiving the JobKeeper Payment.
  • Continue to provide information to the ATO on a monthly basis, including the number of eligible employees employed by the business.

Eligible employees are people who:

  • are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired)
  • were employed by the employer at 1 March 2020
  • are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020)
  • are at least 16 years of age
  • are an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, a Protected Special Category Visa Holder, a non- protected Special Category Visa Holder who has been residing continually in Australia for 10 years or more, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder; and
  • are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer (only the primary employer nominated by the employee can claim the JobSeeker Payment).

It will be up to the employer if they want to pay superannuation on any additional wage paid because of the JobKeeper Payment.

Businesses without employees, such as the self-employed, can also register their interest in applying for JobKeeper Payment with the ATO. Such businesses will need to provide an ABN for their business, nominate an individual to receive the payment and provide that individual’s Tax File Number and provide a declaration as to recent business activity. People who are self-employed will need to provide a monthly update to the ATO to declare their continued eligibility for the payments. Payment will be made monthly to the individual’s bank account.

The subsidy starts 30 March 2020, with the first payment expected to be made to employers in the first week of May. Payments will be made to the employer monthly in arrears by the ATO.

Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

CASH FLOW SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES

The Government is providing temporary cash flow support of up to $100,000 for eligible small and medium-sized businesses, and not-for-profits (NFPs) that employ staff to help with their cash flow so they can keep operating, pay their rent, electricity and other bills and retain staff. This will be done through two sets of cash flow boosts, with the first delivered from 28 April 2020, through credits in the activity statement system. Eligible businesses do not need to apply with a separate form.

Eligible businesses and NFPs, must have held an Australian Business Number on 12 March 2020 and lodge their activity statement to receive the credit. Charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission are eligible, regardless of when they were registered, if they meet the other eligibility requirements.

Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

TEMPORARY RELIEF FOR FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED BUSINESSES

The economic impacts of the Coronavirus and health measures to prevent its spread could see many otherwise profitable and viable businesses temporarily face financial distress. It is important that these businesses have a safety net to make sure that when the crisis has passed they can resume normal business operations. One element of that safety net is to lessen the threat of actions that could unnecessarily push them into insolvency and force the winding up of the business.

The 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, and providing temporary flexibility in the Corporations Act 2001 to provide temporary and targeted relief from provisions of the Act to deal with unforeseen events that arise as a result of the Coronavirus health crisis.

The ATO will tailor solutions for owners or directors of business that are currently struggling due to the Coronavirus, including temporary reduction of payments or deferrals, or withholding enforcement actions including Director Penalty Notices and wind-ups.

Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

INCREASING THE INSTANT ASSET WRITE-OFF

The Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 and expanding access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million) until 30 June 2020. In 2017-18 there were more than 360,000 businesses that benefited from the current instant asset write-off, claiming deductions to the value of over $4 billion. This measure will support over 3.5 million businesses (over 99 per cent of businesses) employing more than 9.7 million employees.

Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

BACKING BUSINESS INVESTMENT

The Government is providing a time limited 15 month investment incentive (through to 30 June 2021) to support business investment and economic growth over the short term, by accelerating depreciation deductions. 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’s cost. This measure will support business investment and is estimated to lower taxes paid by Australian businesses by $6.7 billion over the next two years. This measure will support over 3.5 million businesses (over 99 per cent of businesses) employing more than 9.7 million employees.

Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

SUPPORTING APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES

To support small businesses to retain their apprentices and trainees, eligible businesses can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s, or trainee’s wage paid during the 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Employers will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee ($7,000 per quarter).

Where a small business is not able to retain an apprentice, the subsidy will be available to a new employer.

This measure will ensure the continued development of the skilled workforce. Support will also be provided to the National Apprentice Employment Network, the peak national body representing Group Training Organisations, to co-ordinate the re-employment of displaced apprentices and trainees throughout their network of host employers across Australia.

Click the button below for more information including guidelines and eligibility.

COVID-19 GOVERNMENT STIMULUS FOR SMALL BUSINESS: VIDEO

ATA - UNDERSTANDING THE CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS PACKAGES

Understanding the coronavirus stimulus packages

As Australia faces the coronavirus crisis and the challenges that come with it, the Australian government has released a series of stimulus packages to support trucking operators and secure business confidence. To help understand the packages and what they mean for you, Chris Sant from Deloitte Australia has provided an update. For further industry-related coronavirus information, head to www.truck.net.au/coronavirus

Posted by Australian Trucking Association on Wednesday, April 8, 2020
REMOTE DRIVER LICENCE RENEWALS

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the need to minimise person-to-person contact, we have introduced remote driver’s licence renewals.

This means Tasmanians do not have to attend a Service Tasmania shopfront in person.

For those whose driver’s licences are due for renewal between April 1 and September 30, 2020, this can now be done from home using BPAY through Service Tasmania on 1300 13 55 13 or by email to tes@stategrowth.tas.gov.au

During this period, new licences will feature the existing licence photograph used on the driver’s old licence.

Tasmanians over 65 whose licences are due to be renewed before September 30, 2020 will have their licences automatically renewed for free. This is an additional safety measure for this higher risk age group.

Licences will be posted to the driver’s recorded home address by Department of State Growth. If you have changed your address recently, please contact Service Tasmania to update you contact details.

For those Tasmanians who currently require a medical test to renew their licence, this will be deferred for the present time, unless it is for a potentially dangerous condition that requires ongoing monitoring to ensure fitness to drive.

This removes the need for these drivers to visit a doctor’s surgery when not completely necessary.

For each of these changes, all risk has been assessed as low and any potential higher risk individual cases will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you are in the process of re-entering the driving licensing system, please contact the Department of State Growth on tes@stategrowth.tas.gov.au to be assigned a case manager to support you.

GET IN TOUCH WITH TTA

Call the TTA by phone: 0427 366 742 or email: ed@tta.org.au - We're here and interested to support you and your business