Deadline: 8-Dec-22
The Tasmanian Government is seeking applications for the Small Business Emergency Response Grant Program.
Aims
- The objective of this assistance measure, jointly funded by the Australian and Tasmanian Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, is to assist with the costs of clean-up and reinstatement of small businesses that have suffered direct damage as a direct result of the severe weather event on 13 and 14 October 2022.
- The severe weather event significantly impacted parts of 17 municipalities across Northern Tasmania, primarily: Break O’Day, Burnie, Central Coast, Central Highlands, Circular Head, Devonport, Dorset, Flinders, George Town, Kentish, Latrobe, Launceston, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands, Waratah-Wynyard, West Coast and West Tamar.
- Small businesses play an integral part in local economies and communities, and this assistance must contribute towards minimising disruption in the affected area and assisting the community to recover. This grant is intended to assist small businesses to continue or commence operations as soon as possible where the impact has been severe.
Funding Information
- The maximum grant amount available is $25 000.
- Tier One – An initial one-off amount of $2 500 is available.
- To support an initial claim, applicants will be required to describe and provide evidence of direct damage from the severe weather event on their business and demonstrate with evidence they were actively trading immediately prior to 13 October 2022.
- Tier Two – A subsequent one-off amount of up to $22 500 is available.
- To support subsequent claims full evidence of payment is required. This evidence of payment must also include any amounts claimed under the initial (Tier One) claim.
- Notes:
- Where an applicant is approved for funding of $2 500 (Tier One) and does not seek further payment under Tier Two, the Department of State Growth may request the applicant provide evidence of expenditure within 12 months of receiving the Tier One grant for reconciliation, acquittal and transparency purposes.
- Applicants can only submit one application for each Tier. If the applicant does not apply for the full amount available for Tier Two, there is no opportunity to apply for further expense claims.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for both Tier One and Tier Two of Small Business Emergency Response Grant the applicant must:
- be a sole operator or a small business employing fewer than 20 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs)
- hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at the time of the severe weather event on 13 and 14 October 2022;
- have suffered direct damage to premises and/or tools of trade (e.g. equipment, plant);
- be intending to re-establish at the same location in the same municipality;
- for costs relating to activities provide satisfactory evidence of the loss or damage;
- be primarily responsible for meeting the costs claimed in the application;
- a small business that is located outside one of the 17 impacted municipalities but operates part-time or on some regular basis within one of the impacted municipalities and the business’ property, plant and/or equipment were damaged.
- In the instance of a sole operator who has no employees (ie has no paid employees), the sole operator must derive at least 50 per cent of their income from the business.
- Where less than 50 per cent of a sole operator’s income comes from the small business, they maybe eligible if:
- their businesses is in start-up mode with the intention of being the applicant’s primary source of income (at least 50 per cent) in a relatively short period of time, immediately prior to the severe weather event (e.g. premises being prepared but trading had not yet commenced); or
- businesses that had been an applicant’s primary source of income and would have become so again in a relatively short period of time had the severe weather event not occurred; or
- they have made substantial capital investment (for example, salary/wages from employment or monies from elsewhere) into building up a business such that it was close to becoming a viable commercial operation immediately prior to the severe weather event; or
- they are operating more than two separate and distinct business entities
- Applicants who operate more than one business under a single ABN, may apply for assistance under separate applications, however the applications cannot include the same claims.
Deadlines
- Tier One: 8 December 2022
- Tier Two: 27 April 2023
For more information, visit Tasmanian Government.