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NSW - Covid Support

accounting advice covid-19 support Jul 28, 2021

Covid-19 and all these lockdowns are exhausting, we know. While we are super grateful we can work from home and look after you, we understand that for many of you work has been cancelled. The arts, tourism and hospitality seem to be hit the worst, and over and over. Most of our clients are small businesses in the arts, so we know and appreciate your businesses, and we are happy to help you navigate the tricky land that is covid support funding.

Please note:

This is written 27 July 2021 and may be subject to change.
Always double check on Government official websites, or by emailing your accountant.
The information here is not exhaustive. It is written with the majority of our clients in mind. Some of it will not apply to you, and there may be other grants available to you than what is in the below, depending on your unique circumstances.

We have outlined some of the key elements of the important grants, in SA, VIC and NSW. At the bottom of this we remind you how to calculate the decline in turnover and what turnover actually is.

Not your state? Check out these other blogs:

New South Wales

Individuals

‘Covid-19 disaster payments’

Applications are open
How to claim: Through MyGov
More info here: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/covid-19-disaster-payment-south-australia/how-claim
How much you can get depends on

your location in Sydney/NSW - check this website and consider your own situation
and the hours lost and;
in which weeks/periods

Periods: more detail here

1 - 7 July 2021
8 - 14 July 2021
15 - 21 July 2021
22 - 28 July 2021
29 - 30 July 2021
With lockdowns continuing we expect to see updates to the periods.

The amounts vary between $375, $500 and $600 depending on the combination of the above
Eligibility:

Australian resident, or hold a visa allowing you to work in Australia
17 years old or above
Not claiming/receiving other financial support (like the ‘pandemic relief payments’)
Not receiving income support (partner pay, parental leave pay etc.)
Lost income on or after day 8, and don’t have the appropriate level of leave entitlements

You can get this even if only eligible on one of the days
If you are in a couple, you can both receive this if you are each eligible

There is other support available if you are in a 14-day quarantine.

Businesses

‘Job Saver’ payment

This is a fortnightly payment, intended to maintain headcount as it was at 13 July 2021

The amount depends:
- 40% of payroll for employing businesses (minimum of $1,500 per week and maximum of $10,000)
- $1,000 per week, for non-employing businesses
Apply through MyService NSW. Or, click here then click Apply Now
Weekly payroll is determined by the most recently lodged BAS prior to 26 June 2021
Eligibility:

have an active Australian Business Number (ABN)
demonstrate your business was operating in NSW as at 1 June 2021
have had a national aggregated annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million (inclusive) for the year ended 30 June 2020
have experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the Public Health Order over a minimum 2-week period within the Greater Sydney lockdown (commenced 26 June) compared to the same period in 2019
for employing businesses, maintain your employee headcount on 13 July 2021 while you continue to receive JobSaver payments
for non-employing businesses, such as sole traders, show that the business is the primary income source for the associated person. If you have more than one non-employing business, you can only claim payments for one business.

You can use the funds for:

Salary and wages
Utilities and rent
Financial, legal and other advice
Marketing and communications
Perishable goods
Other business costs

If your business fits one of the ‘highly impacted’ industries, then there are extra requirements. See list of industries here.
- If you do not have employees, then declare that this business income is your primary source of income

Declare that you meet the eligibility requirements
Declare your headcount as at 13 July 2021, and declare you will maintain this headcount
Provide details of your registered tax agent
Submit an Australian tax return for the 2020 financial year, showing your business had an aggregated turnover of $75,000 to $50 million for that period (1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020)
Provide evidence of weekly payroll
Lodge other supporting documents as required

If you are not on the ‘highly impacted’ list, then you do all of the above and include a letter from your accountant:

demonstrate that you experienced a decline in turnover over a minimum 2-week period within the Greater Sydney lockdown (commenced 26 June) compared to the same period in 2019.

‘Covid-19 micro-business grant’

$1,500 per fortnight
Apply through MyService NSW. Or, click here then click Apply Now
Eligibility:

have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) registered in, or demonstrate your business was primarily operating in, NSW as at 1 June 2021 (no, we cannot back date this for you)
have had aggregated annual turnover between $30,000 and $75,000 for the year ended 30 June 2020
have experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the public health orders over a minimum 2-week period within the Greater Sydney lockdown (commenced 26 June 2021 and due to end 30 July 2021), compared to the same period in 2019
have business costs for which no other government support is available
have not applied for either the 2021 COVID-19 business grant or the JobSaver payment
maintain your employee headcount as at 13 July 2021 while receiving payments from this grant, if you're an employing business
have this business as your primary income source (if sole trader with no employees)

Please note you cannot apply for this and for the covid-19 disaster payments
Examples of documents to support the application:
- Bank statements
- Letter from your accountant
- BAS lodged
- Income Tax Return or Notice of Assessment

Declaration that you meet the criteria
Evidence of decline in turnover
Aggregated turnover for the 2020 financial year

If your business does not meet the eligibility criteria, there might still be hope!
- Accountant letter (we are happy to help all of our eligible clients)
- BAS lodgements
- Income Tax Returns
- P&L statements prepared by an accountant
- Receipts and invoices from sales
- Business bank accounts (separate from personal accounts)

Check the guidelines here for details
Contact Service NSW
Be prepared to show:

Keep all documentation for 5 years
You can use the funds for:

Salary and wages
Utilities and rent
Financial, legal and other advice
Marketing and communications
Perishable goods
Other business costs

Any issues, call: 13 77 88

‘Covid-19 business grant’

A one-off grant to support cash-flow
Lockdown started 26 June 2021
Apply through MyService NSW. Or, click here then click Apply Now
Amount depends on eligibility and decline %:
- $7,500 for a 30% or more decline (tier 1)
- $10,500 for a 50% or more decline (tier 2)
- $15,000 for a 70% or more decline (tier 3)
Decline timeframe: decline in turnover experienced over a minimum 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 17 July 2021, compared to 2019 i.e. the business must have experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the Public Health Orders over a minimum 2-week period from 27 May 2021 to 17 July 2021 compared to the same period in May and/or June and/or July 2019.

Eligibility (general):

Have an active ABN
Demonstrate your business was operating at 1 June 2021
Have an annual turnover of $10 million or less for 2020 financial year
Have business costs for which there is no other support funding available
Maintain your employee headcount at 13 July 2021
There are some specific conditions for each tier above.

The grant can be spent on 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

If your business fits one of the ‘highly impacted’ industries, then there are extra requirements. See list of industries here.

Declare that you meet the eligibility requirements
Provide details of your registered tax agent
Submit an Australian tax return for the 2020 financial year, showing your business had an aggregated turnover of $75,000 to $50 million for that period (1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020)
Lodge other supporting documents as required

If you are not on the ‘highly impacted’ list, then:

declare that you meet the eligibility criteria
submit evidence that you experienced the relevant decline in turnover in the specified period
submit an Australian income tax return, Notice of Assessment or other documentation demonstrating the business had an aggregated annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million (inclusive) for the year ended 30 June 2020
lodge other supporting documents as required to demonstrate you meet the eligibility criteria

To show evidence of this decline in turnover, you'll need to submit a letter from a qualified accountant, registered tax agent or registered BAS agent (link here to template) - yes we can help our clients with this
If you are eligible for the full $15,000 then you need to provide the evidence of the decline in turnover
If your business does not meet the eligibility criteria, there might still be hope!
- The business was not operating for the full year to 30 June 2020 (e.g. they are a new business) but can demonstrate income consistent with $75,000 per annum over a shorter period prior to 26 June 2021, and they can demonstrate they have been significantly impacted by the Public Health Orders, or
- The turnover in June/July 2019 was not representative of their usual or average turnover (e.g. due to drought or bushfires) which is usually $75,000 per annum or more, and they can demonstrate they have been significantly impacted by the Public Health Orders.

Check the guidelines here for details
Contact Service NSW
Be prepared to show:
Consider getting a letter from your accountant

Keep all your supporting documents for 5 years in case of audit

‘Performing Arts Covid Support Grant’

Apply through SmartyGrants - click here and follow the prompts
Applicant eligibility - you/your business must be one of the following:

Eligible venue (see list of approved venues on page six here)
A producer of an eligible performance scheduled to perform at one of the eligible venues
A promoter of an eligible performance scheduled to perform at one of the eligible venues

If you do not meet the eligibility types, apply for special consideration through Create NSW
The amount depends on a special formula on page three - more detailed information here - based on tickets available for sale
FYI: If you have already applied for support under the 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant package, any amounts received under that package will be deducted from your first payment made under this package
Ticketing systems - page ten of this document
If you get stuck, please contact: [email protected]

TURNOVER

Turnover is like INCOME - not profit, which is income minus expenses. Technically speaking, the JobKeeper rules state that an entity satisfies the decline in turnover test at a test time if:

"(a) the entity’s projected GST turnover for a turnover test period in which the test time occurs falls short of the entity’s current GST turnover for a relevant comparison period..." (Rule 8(1)(a))

So... what is projected GST turnover?

"Projected GST turnover has the meaning given by the GST Act" (per the definitions section of the super boring Act I had to read for you guys).

Cool, that doesn't really help...

The GST Act defines in s188.20:

"Projected GST Turnover: Your projected GST turnover at a time during a particular month is the sum of the values of all the supplies that you have made..."

FYI we're going to refer to this as "turnover" from here on out because the GST and 'projected' bits are confusing the matter, in my opinion.

Now, this all sounds like it is talking about BAS stuff, right!?

Nope. Surprise.

GST Turnover is not actually BAS turnover. It is turnover as defined in the GST Act.

So, what does this actually mean?

Income for the period, compared to income for the other period
You can use cash or accrual accounting of that income

The ATO have said that technically accruals is the correct method, but if you use the cash method on your BAS (or for your tax return I imagine) then you can use cash for this calculation too.

Projected GST turnover and current GST turnover excludes the following:

GST you included in sales to your customers (if any)
sales that are input taxed sales (e.g. bank interest, sale of shares, residential rental income)
sales not connected with an enterprise that you carry on (e.g. sale of private car)
sales that are not made for payment (unless a taxable supply to an associate)
payments for no supply (e.g. JobKeeper payments)
gifts and donations (except for deductible gift recipients and ACNC-registered charities as discussed above)
sales not connected with Australia, for example: