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16 June 2020

Guide for Queensland Government $10,000 Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant Application – Round Two

Nadia Rawlings

Premier Palaszczuk has announced a further $100 million allocated funding for a second round of the $10,000 Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant available from next month.

In this second round, the Qld Government will be dividing the available Grant funding equally between small businesses in regional areas and those in South East Queensland.

If you missed out on the Grant in the last round, this could be your chance.

In this article, we outline important information for you to prepare yourself to apply.

When to Apply

Applications will be open from 1 July 2020 via the Qld Government dedicated Business Queensland website.

Applications are only available to businesses who did not receive a Grant in round 1. If you applied in round 1 but have not heard back, you can apply again in round 2.

You can only make one application for one business that you own, if you operate more than one business, choose the most appropriate.

You must apply for your Grant personally and cannot have a supplier apply for the Grant on your behalf.  Please watch out for scams!

Identify if you are a Regional or SE Qld Business

You will need to identify if you are a regional business or a South East Queensland business.

You are a South East Queensland business if your principal place of business is located in the following areas:

  • Brisbane City Council
  • City of Gold Coast
  • Ipswich City Council
  • Lockyer Valley Regional Council
  • Logan City Council
  • Moreton Bay Regional Council
  • Noosa Shire Council
  • Redlands City Council
  • Scenic Rim Regional Council
  • Somerset Regional Council
  • Sunshine Coast Council
  • Toowoomba Regional Council

All other areas are considered regional.

Eligibility Criteria

It is important that you check that you meet the eligibility criteria.

For your business to be eligible it must (quoted from Qld Government website):

  • have been subject to closure or otherwise highly impacted by the shutdown restrictions announced by Queensland’s Chief Health Officer on 23 March 2020;
  • demonstrate that business revenue has experienced a significant decline since 23 March 2020 over a minimum one-month period due to the onset and management of COVID 19;
  • employ staff and have fewer than 20 employees at the time of applying for the grant (these employees should be in addition to the business owners and be employed on the business’s payroll);
  • have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN) active as at 23 March 2020;
  • be registered for GST;
  • have a Queensland headquarters;
  • have an annual turnover over $75,000 for the 2018-19 or 2019-20 financial year or provide financial records that indicate that this will be met for recently started small businesses;
  • have a payroll of less than $1.3 million; and
  • not be insolvent or have owners/directors that are an undischarged bankrupt.

What you can apply for

You can apply for a Grant sum between $2,000 to $10,000 towards payment of a quotation or invoice for an eligible purpose.

The eligible purposes are the following (quoted from Qld Government website):

  • financial, legal or other professional advice to support business sustainability and diversification;
  • continuing to meet business operation costs, including utilities, council rates, rent, telecommunication charges, insurance fees, licensing or franchise fees;
  • strategic planning, financial counselling or business coaching alighted to business development and diversification;
  • building the business through marketing and communication activities (eg. content development – web pages, mobile apps, visual and audio media etc.);
  • digital/technological strategy development;
  • digital training or re-training and up-skilling employees to adapt to new business models;
  • capital costs associated with meeting COVID-19 safety requirements; and
  • specialised digital equipment or business-specific software to move business operations online (eg. logistics program for online ordering).

You cannot apply the grant towards:

  • goods and services purchased prior to 23 March 2020 (your invoice or project start date should be after 23 March 2020);
  • activities for a total cost of less than $2000 + GST (you cannot apply the Grant to GST);
  • business costs covered by another Qld or Cth financial assistance measure;
  • salaries or wages for employees including superannuation or WorkCover;
  • services to be provided in kind (you must pay for the services);
  • purchase of business assets such as stock or fleet vehicles/machinery (but note you can apply for software);
  • fees for services or goods provided by a related party/related entity (it must be from an independent supplier);
  • for activities involving direct-selling businesses (eg. party plan and network marketing);

If you are unsure, there is no harm in applying, so long as your intended purpose is clearly stated and not misrepresented. If the project involves multiple items, we recommend you apportion the funding between purposes or projects, including by obtaining an invoice or quotation that shows the apportionment.

The project to which funding will be applied must be completed (and you must have paid at least the Grant amount) within 6 months. You will need to complete and lodge an acquittal report with copies of supplier and proof of purchase invoices. The Qld Government will also survey successful businesses in 6 months time.

What information to supply with your Application

When making your application online, you will need to supply the following materials which you should have prepared and ready to upload:

Grant RequirementInformation to Supply
Business details
  • Have ABN ready
  • Check your principal place of business is correct with ASIC
  • Have your financial reports for 2019/2020 ready to enter business information quickly
  • Have your bank account details ready
Minimum Annual Turnover ($75,000)
  • Have ready to supply turnover evidence in the form of:
    • BAS statements; or
    • Tax return for business (2019); or
    • CPA Accountant’s letter declaring turnover
Employee Headcount & Payroll

(less than 20 & $1.3m)

  • Check your employee headcount (PAYG employees only – business owners excluded)
  • Have ready to supply payroll evidence. Eg. PAYG evidence, CPA accountant certified information.
Impact of COVID-19

(minimum 30% downturn)

  • Be prepared to answer how COVID-19 has impacted your business in terms of:
    • Staff reductions
    • Lost trading
    • Financial losses
    • Have data and statistics ready
    • Have ready to upload evidence of reduction in sales in the form of:
    • BAS showing reduction eg. BAS submissions over two quarters; or
    • Financial reports clearly showing reduction; or
    • CPA Accountant’s letter declaring impact.
Use of Grant

(minimum $2000 + GST)

  • Have prepared ‘a statement describing how the funding will contribute to your small business during the COVID-19 crisis in terms of employment retention or outcomes, business capability and resilience, continuity (including the ability to continue to meet operating expenses), diversification, and/or digital capability of the business’
  • Have ready to supply:
    • invoice and/or receipt of purchase if related to the purchase of specialised digital equipment or business-specific software on or after 23 March 2020;
    • invoices and/or receipts as evidence of operating expenses (wages, super and WorkCover excluded); and/or
    • quotes or invoice for services related to an eligible project (check eligible purposes).

We recommend that your quotations and invoices:

    1. be addressed to your business not yourself personally;
    2. be dated after 23 March 2020;
    3. sufficiently describe the project to identify the eligible purpose;
    4. be apportioned if necessary or desirable;
    5. state the project duration or completion date if applicable (will need to be within 6 months);
    6. be on official supplier letterhead listing the supplier’s details including ABN.

You should supply official evidence where possible, for example, certified information from your accountant, bank statements and PAYG statements, not your own MYOB printouts or excel spreadsheets except where supplemental.

As with any grant application, your application should clearly identify value for money, including the impact COVID has had on your business, and how the project/Grant will make a significant improvement or impact in your business.

Other important information

Your Grant will be assessable income to your business and you will need to pay tax on the Grant unless exempted under any particular law. Please ensure that you tell your accountant if you receive the Grant.

For more information about the Grant, we recommend that you read the following resources available from the Business Queensland website.

  1. Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant – Round 2 Guidelines;
  2. Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant – FAQs; and
  3. Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant – Application Tips.

 

 


Individual liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation (personal injury work exempted).

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