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101 Northern WA tourism businesses will receive $8.7 million in Tourism Business Survival Grants, supporting WA tourism operators manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding is part of the WA Government’s $14.4 million Tourism Recovery Program.
The program is providing grants of $15,000-$100,000 to help tourism operators sustain and grow their businesses in the current environment - to cover fixed costs and overheads, purchase business materials and services, and shift focus to the domestic market.
The Tourism Recovery Program has provided wide support to the regions and sectors most impacted by COVID-19, with 70 per cent of all applicants successful in receiving funding.
For more information and a full list of successful Tourism Business Survival Grants program recipients see the 101 Kimberley and Pilbara businesses secure tourism recovery funding media statement.
A new walking trails initiative has been unveiled, as Western Australians are being urged to visit WA's iconic Hillarys Boat Harbour.
The new walking trails will showcase three separate walks at the popular tourist destination, highlighting key attractions along the way.
The trails are designed to encourage families to visit these iconic destinations and support small businesses who have been doing it tough due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A $117 million maintenance contract for Western Australian maritime facilities has also been awarded.
Up to 117 local jobs, including 12 apprentices, will be supported over the life of the 6 year project for Western Australian maritime facilities.
For more information see the new walking trails media statement.
The WA Government is supporting the regional tourism industry with $1 million in funding for 77 regional events.
Events awarded funding for the first time through this scheme include Bunbury Fringe 2021 in the South West, Get Hooked Fishing Festival in the Wheatbelt, and the South Festival in the Pilbara.?
Seven events were awarded funding under the Regional Aboriginal Events Scheme to showcase Aboriginal activities and experiences, and encourage Aboriginal leadership and participation.
A full list of events that will receive funding is available on the Tourism WA website.
For more information see the Regional tourism recovery boosted with events support media statement.
The WA Government has launched a multimillion dollar recovery package to support small tourism operators around the State to adapt and refocus their businesses in the COVID-19 landscape.
The $14.4 million initiative includes two funding programs.?
The $10.4 million Tourism Recovery Fund provides one-off cash grants of $6500 to up to 1600 individual small businesses around the State. Eligible businesses must be: ?
The remaining $4 million has been put towards a Tourism Business Survival Grants package, which provides grants of $25,000 to $100,000 for tourism operators dealing with exceptionally difficult circumstances. ?
Any Western Australian tourism business which is suffering from the impacts of COVID-19 or is ineligible for the Tourism Recovery Fund is encouraged to apply for the Tourism Business Survival Grants.
More information on these Tourism Business Survival Grants packages, including how businesses can apply, will be released shortly.
To apply or learn more, visit the?WA Tourism Recovery Program page.
WA businesses will continue to be exempt from paying payroll tax under the JobKeeper Payment scheme until March 28, 2021.
Payroll tax relief legislation passed in April 2020 provides a payroll tax exemption for subsidies under the original scheme. The legislation included the ability for the government to continue the payroll tax exemption if JobKeeper was extended.
The Small Business Development Corporation has created a COVID-19 assistance centre to provide dedicated, timely guidance on available support options, including:?
To access the service call 133 140 (8.30am to 4.30pm weekdays) or email?info@smallbusiness.wa.gov.au.?For more information visit the?Small Business Development Corporation website?or follow its blog.
The WA Government is investing $114 million to support small and medium businesses:
For more information visit the Small Business Development Corporation's website.
From 20 July, thousands of Western Australian small to medium-sized businesses will begin receiving a one-off grant of $17,500 from the WA Government to help them recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
Payroll tax paying businesses with a payroll between $1 million and $4 million will be eligible for the grant, which will be sent automatically to all qualifying businesses.
Eligibility for employers not registered for payroll tax in 2018-19 will be determined on their reconciled 2019-20 Australian taxable wages, with grants paid later in 2020.?
It is expected 7,400 Western Australian businesses will benefit from the grant.
For more information see the WA small businesses to receive $17,500 grant to assist during COVID-19 media statement.
The WA Government has introduced a new code of conduct to help commercial tenants and landlords reach agreements about rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It provides guidelines to assist with negotiating rent relief agreements during COVID-19 to ensure businesses can survive, and requires landlords to:
The code is applicable for small businesses who have an annual turnover of less than $50 million, and who either qualify for the JobKeeper scheme or have experienced a decline in turnover of 30 per cent or more during the emergency period (6 months from March 30, 2020). Small charities only need to show a 15 per cent reduction in turnover.
Small commercial tenants and their landlords are encouraged to visit the Small Business Development Corporation website for practical advice about reaching an agreement on rent relief.
The WA Government has set aside $100 million for land tax relief grants for commercial landlords. Landlords will receive grants equal to 25 per cent of their 2019-20 land tax bill for the property in which an eligible tenant is provided relief.?
Eligibility:?
Grants will be administered through the Small Business Development Corporation?(SBDC).
For more information see the?eligibility criteria and how to apply?for the commercial?land tax?grant.?
Laws are in place to establish?a?moratorium on evictions for certain commercial tenancies in Western Australia and establish a mandatory code of conduct to assist with negotiations between landlords and tenants. The legislation includes:?
More information:?
The WA Government will be delivering a $9 million relief package to support the taxi and on-demand transport industry through the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes:?
Final details of the new regional assistance package are being worked through and will be released shortly. The payments are expected to be made July 2020.?
Find out more about the?$9 million relief package
Planned increases in non-residential water charges across 10 regional schemes have been delayed to provide financial relief for businesses impacted by COVID-19.
The following regional schemes will benefit from the delay:
?Regional non-residential charges have been increasing each year following a 2013-14 review.
For more information see the Water charges relief for regional businesses affected by COVID-19 media statement.
Businesses with 4 or more wastewater fixtures may be eligible to receive up to $41,000 through Water Corporation’s major fixture waiver.
Eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19 which are receiving JobKeeper payments can have their service charges for the period of 1 May 2020 – 31 August 2020 waived, as part of this initiative.
The WA Government, through Lotterywest, has established a $159 million COVID-19 relief fund to support organisations that are helping people experiencing hardship. ? An initial $59 million is available for crisis and emergency relief support for eligible not for-profit and community organisations to assist with costs related to increased demand for food, clothing, shelter and other critical needs. A further $100 million will be raised through Lotterywest sales.? ? ?The funding also includes:?
Lotterywest will now allocate all profits previously assigned to the grants budget, anticipated to be about $100 million, directly into the newly created fund.?
Eligible not-for-profit organisations and community groups can apply immediately for grant support by visiting Lotterywest or by calling 131 777.?
The WA Government will allocate up to $800,000 from the $16.7 million New Industries Fund to support start-ups and small and medium enterprises affected by COVID-19.
The $16.7 million New Industries Fund was established to support and accelerate new and emerging businesses to diversify the WA economy and create new jobs.
The $800,000 package from the New Industries Fund will provide:
The Innovation Vouchers Program supports small and medium enterprises to access professional skills, services or knowledge to advance their ideas and commercial activities.
The WA Data Science Innovation Hub and the AustCyber WA Innovation Hub help build the hubs’ capacity to advise start-ups and small and medium enterprises on cyber security and the use of data science for business development, including in regional areas.
The education and mentoring programs delivered by the X-TEND WA Program will help boost entrepreneurs and innovative projects that support diversity and promote inclusion in the innovation community.
For more information see the $800,000 from New Industries Fund to support COVID-19 affected innovation sector media statement.
The WA Government has introduced new procurement legislation to slash red tape for businesses wanting to work with Government and assist with the State’s economic recovery. ?
The Procurement Bill 2020 provides a simpler procurement framework for all Government departments and agencies, and replaced the State Supply Commission Act 1991. It streamlines tender processes and documents across Government and improves the integrity of public sector procurement with greater audit and investigation powers.
For more information visit the?Procurement Bill 2020 page.
Two Western Australian-based resource sector export hubs worth $3.8 million will be established to help small and medium-sized enterprises get export-ready and be more internationally competitive.
Subsea Energy Australia (SEA) and Austmine have received $1.4 million and $500,000 respectively from the Australian Government that will enable them to help SMEs tap into new international markets.
Invest and Trade WA, part of the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, committed $350,000 and in-kind support worth $50,000 to Austmine, and offered facilitation support to SEA, which helped secure their SME Export Hubs Initiative grants.
For more information visit Invest and Trade Western Australia.
The WA Government has partnered with major resources companies and WA’s leading researchers to roll out COVID-19 testing for FIFO mining and resources workers who do not have symptoms.
This is the second pillar of the DETECT program, a joint initiative of the Department of Health and the WA research community. It will examine the prevalence of COVID-19 in WA and help to provide greater certainty around possible undetected transmission.
30,000 tests are expected to be conducted during the life of the project. While there is no evidence of community spread of COVID-19, it is hoped the DETECT program will further assist in developing an even stronger evidence base on which to make policy decisions and ease restrictions.
The WA Government is providing guidance to clarify the criteria that can be applied in granting exemption from exploration expenditure requirements in Western Australia.
The measures will help provide relief to companies and help support the State’s economy to respond to COVID-19.
The Minister for Mines and Petroleum has enabled an exemption from exploration expenditure to be considered if tenement holders are unable to meet the tenement’s expenditure requirements as a direct result of COVID-19 or because of restrictions imposed by the State and Federal governments. This decision will be valid until 31 March 2021, unless rescinded earlier.
Applications can be made to the?Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, detailing the reasons an extension of time is required through the existing Form 5 process.
In terms of tenement rents, there is an existing mechanism which allows tenement holders to apply for an extension of time to pay.
Other initiatives are being investigated that may assist the industry, while not compromising the integrity of our legislative framework.
The WA Government has announced a $444 million housing stimulus package to deliver a major boost to WA’s COVID-19 economic recovery, and support the building and construction sectors.
The comprehensive housing package will provide incentives for Western Australians to build new homes and deliver more social and affordable housing options for Western Australians.
For more information please visit the Western Australian Government response to COVID-19.
A $24.5 million support package will assist the building and construction industry to maintain a skilled workforce during the COVID-19 crisis, including:?
Find out more?about the?support package to assist the building and construction industry
The WA Government is bringing forward funds in a $150 million housing investment package to help maintain a pipeline of work for local tradies and building businesses.
The immediate focus of the stimulus is on refurbishing 70 homes across the metropolitan and regional areas. Up to 500 social and affordable homes will be constructed as the package unfolds.
This stimulus initiative is expected to create and support about 1000 jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, providing more social and affordable housing for people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness.?
For more information see?McGowan Government brings forward housing funds to support jobs in building industry.
A $1 million grants program for the regional arts sector and $195,000 relief fund for regional art galleries has been announced to support ongoing creative and cultural activity in Western Australia’s regions.
The Regional Arts Resilience Grants Program will offer up to $15,000 to regional artists, cultural practitioners, and arts and cultural organisations to support creative development, community engagement and capacity-building projects. The first round of this program opens for applications in July 2020.
The $195,000 relief fund will be available for eligible regional art galleries who had to cancel exhibitions and close their doors due to COVID-19. The funding will ensure galleries have the capacity to host visual art exhibitions and activities in the future, and assist recovery in re-establishing vital community arts activity.
For more information see the $1 million program to rekindle regional arts and Relief fund to support galleries to bounce back media statements.
The WA Government has approved a $1.5 million support package, developed by the Art Gallery of Western Australia’s Board and the Art Gallery’s Foundation, to help Western Australian artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the initiative, all living Western Australian artists represented in the State Art Collection will receive $2,000 towards creating an online State Art Collection archive. In addition, independent and art centre-based Aboriginal artists will share up to $525,000 through a targeted acquisition program to purchase existing works from up to 15 independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and from 25 Aboriginal art centres.
In total, more than 400 Western Australian artists will directly benefit from the initiative, injecting up to $1.5 million into the arts sector economy.