Victorian Government’s Business Costs Assistance programs now open

The Victorian Government has launched a new round of grants for eligible small to medium businesses, including employing and non-employing businesses impacted by the recent restrictions in Victoria.

The Business Costs Assistance program offers grants of up to $5,000 to eligible small and medium businesses, including employing and non-employing businesses. The grants will support businesses in eligible sectors directly impacted by restrictions.

To be eligible, businesses must:

operate in an eligible sector listed in the list of eligible ANZSIC classes for this program
have incurred direct costs because of the restrictions and cannot fully operate remotely
have an annual Victorian payroll of up to $10 million in 2019-20 on an ungrouped basis
have been registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Thursday 27 May 2021
hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at Thursday 27 May 2021
be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator.

Employing businesses must also:

be registered with WorkSafe Victoria
attest that the business is supporting its workers to access any paid leave entitlements, or that if a person can work from home, to work from home during the circuit breaker action, and supporting their casual workers, where possible.

The Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund offers grants of $3,500 for businesses with a premises in regional Victoria and $7,000 for businesses with a premises in metropolitan Melbourne. This Fund will be available to eligible liquor licensees operating a restaurant, hotel, café, pub, bar, club, or reception centre that is registered to serve food and alcohol.

Eligible liquor licensees with an eLicence email address will receive an email containing their grant application link from Business Victoria from Thursday 3 June 2021.
Liquor licensees without an eLicence email address must set one up on their Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation Liquor Portal by 20 June 2021 to receive their grant application link from Business Victoria within five business days

Full eligibility criteria for both the Business Costs Assistance Program and Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund can be found on the links above, along with details on which industries are eligible and how to apply. Applications are open until 11:59pm on 24 June 2021.

Please reach out to your Local Business Concierge if you need additional information on these programs.