Employers / Small Businesses

Cash payments for small to medium businesses. This is the largest part of the stimulus package. Small businesses, with a turnover under $50 million, will receive a tax-free cash payment of at least $20,000 and larger small businesses will receive up to $100,000. The payments will be delivered by the ATO as a credit on activity statements from late April. Around 690,000 businesses employing 7.8 million people will be eligible. For more details, see Cash flow assistance for businesses.

More money into the financial system through the Coronavirus SME guarantee scheme. In addition to an injection of $105 billion, with the intention of increasing the availability of credit, the government will guarantee 50 per cent of new loans to small-to-medium businesses. This will include loans of up to $250,000 over 3 years – with no payments required for 6 months.

This latest measure builds on the previous initiatives to ensure small businesses can access capital, including:

Increased flexibility in insolvency and bankruptcy law. This includes increasing the threshold at which a creditor can pursue insolvency proceedings – from $2,000 to $20,000 – and giving people up to six months to respond, over the current 21 days. Most significantly, businesses will be able to trade while insolvent, with the package including temporary relief for directors from any personal liability. For more details, see Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses.

Sole Traders & Casual Workers

An effective doubling of income support for those on the JobSeeker payment. The payment will be supplemented with an additional $550 per fortnight, bringing it to a total of $1,100 per fortnight for the next six months. The coronavirus supplement will go to existing and new recipients of the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance jobseeker, Parenting Payment, Farm Household Allowance and Special Benefit. Eligibility for access to income support has also been eased to include sole traders, self-employed and those caring for someone infected or in isolation. The assets test and the waiting period have been abolished. The income test still applies. For more details, see:

Other Individuals

A further $750 payment, on top of the first payment (announced March 12), for those on income support who are not eligible for the coronavirus supplement. For example, this would include social security and veteran income support recipients and eligible concession card holders (see the full list here). It will automatically be paid on July 13 and benefit about five million people. For more details, see Payments to support households.

Superannuation

The ability to withdraw super, for those who are facing coronavirus-led financial hardship. Those eligible will be able to draw down $10,000 of their super this financial year, and $10,000 next financial year. People will not pay tax on the money they access, and withdrawals will not affect Centrelink or veterans’ payments. For those eligible to access their superannuation, you can apply directly to the ATO through the myGov website from mid-April. For more details, see Early access to superannuation.

The minimum superannuation drawdown requirements for retirees will also be cut by 50 per cent for the next two financial years, and the deeming rate will be reduced from 1 May to a lower rate of 0.25% and upper rate of 2.25%. This change will benefit around 900,000 income support recipients, including age pensioners. For more details, see Providing support for retirees.

For more information about these measures, see:

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