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The Australian Government announced that JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments will be extended, with changes starting on 28 September 2020. Below is a rundown of the changes to expect on these support schemes. Changes to JobKeeper The JobKeeper scheme will continue until 28 March 2021. The extension of the scheme will operate in two separate periods: Extension 1: 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021 Extension 2: 4 January 2021 to…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Queensland Border Zone Extensions from October 1st Queensland’s border zone will be extended to 5 local government areas in NSW starting October 1st. These areas include: Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Glen Innes councils. South Australia-NSW Borders to Open at Midnight South Australia will reopen its…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Melbourne’s Roadmap to ‘COVID Normal’ A staged plan to ease Melbourne out of tight COVID-19 restrictions has been released. Stage 4 restrictions will remain in place for another two weeks with some minor changes, and will start to ease further from 28 September. The final step should…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Australia To Extend Bankruptcy Protection Rules Until End of 2020 Australia will extend its temporary insolvency and bankruptcy protection rules until the end of this year, providing businesses a lifeline to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The rules, which were first introduced in March and originally…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. COVID-19 Cases in Victoria Fall to Seven-Week Low Victoria, the epicentre of Australia’s second wave of COVID-19 infections, has reported a significant drop in the number of new cases, reaching a near two-month low. This is good news as the total lockdown in Melbourne is set to…  Read more

Since the government announced the $70-billion JobKeeper program to support businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, many small- and medium-sized businesses and non-profit organisations heavily relied on this scheme to stay afloat. According to a recent survey by the Australian Institute of Company Directors on the impact of COVID-19, over 40% of the respondents reported reliance on JobKeeper payments. 47% of SMEs indicated that the JobKeeper Scheme had…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Cashflow Boost and JobKeeper Audits The ATO has announced that it will be actively conducting audits on the cashflow boost JobKeeper scheme. If you receive contact from the ATO to review your JobKeeper eligibility, you will be required to provide documentation as proof that you meet the eligibility criteria.…  Read more

As many business owners look to life after COVID-19, an important question comes up: how do we plan to reopen our business? For most businesses, the easing of restrictions doesn’t mean a return to business as usual. There are rules and regulations in place about how companies can operate, including how many people can be on their premises at one time and how employees must be protected. Customers may not…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Australian Borders Remain Shut Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that international border closures were unlikely to lift before Christmas, as the country reported a record single-day surge in COVID-19 deaths on Monday. However, drastic lockdown measures in Melbourne appear to be working, as the rate of daily…  Read more

7 August 2020 You may have heard the news that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced the government will expand the JobKeeper scheme again. This comes a few weeks after announcements of JobKeeper 2.0 to start at the end of September. Below is a roundup of what has been announced and what we expect to see, but please note that this is not legislated yet and is still subject to change.…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Support for Victorian businesses As you have probably heard, the Victorian Government has announced updated restrictions for Melbourne and regional Victoria to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Stage 4 restrictions started from 6pm on Sunday 2 August for metropolitan Melbourne. Stage 3 restrictions are in place…  Read more

The government has announced changes to the JobKeeper scheme. The Treasury’s review found that the subsidy was still “needed” but required a “test to ensure that JobKeeper is well targeted”. Be prepared This means there will be changes to your current situation and your entitlements will be affected. The details of the changes are being announced now and we will ensure our clients are fully informed as to how this…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Tightening restrictions as COVID-19 cases top 10,000 Restrictions have tightened back up in some states in an attempt to contain a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 in the country’s southeast, which pushed the total number of cases in the country beyond 10,000. While Australia has avoided the high…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Next phase of JobKeeper to come after September PM Scott Morrison confirmed today that there will be a “further phase” of JobKeeper payments following this September when the scheme is due to end. No more details have been announced yet, but we will keep you updated when…  Read more

If you’re like many small business owners you’re probably astounded by how the world has changed in a very short time. While we can all hope that the pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime scenario, the truth is there is a lot in life and in business that is uncertain, and there is a great deal we can learn from the response to COVID-19 to help plan for the future. Yes, your…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for this week’s update. State grants and support programs. Each state and territory has announced various grants and assistance packages which you may be eligible for. You can find a roundup of these grants on the Government’s Business website. Alternatively, you can also contact us so we can discuss which options are most suitable for your business based on your eligibility and…  Read more

We’ve heard this before: the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global health and financial crisis that has caught many off guard. While the threats to human life are very real, the damage to the health of businesses is really just starting to show. The seriousness of the disease and the lack of a vaccine (at the time of writing this) have prompted governments around the world to impose strict measures…  Read more

Good news! This week the government announced that the Instant Asset Write-off has been extended for six months, taking the initiative to 31 December 2020. Australian businesses with less than $500 million annual turnover will be able to take advantage of the write-off and invest in assets to support their business. This government initiative is designed to help the economy reopen and boost economic growth. The instant asset write-off applies…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Easing restrictions Last week we mentioned the government’s state-by-state roadmaps to relaxing restrictions. Most states have started their roadmap and as a result some businesses are gearing up to reopen. If it’s still a little while away for your business – hang in there, and please don’t hesitate to…  Read more

Hello for another week! We hope you are staying healthy and well. The big news late last week was the government’s three-step plan to relax coronavirus restrictions. It’s great news for our country and our economy – well done to everyone for playing a part in “flattening the curve!” Plans to reduce restrictions Each state will work independently to implement their own three-step plan, at their own pace. State government…  Read more