Business Costs Assistance Program

In order to be eligible, you must

• be located within Victoria
• be registered as operating in an eligible industry sector identified in the list of Eligible ANZSIC classes (as defined by the industry classification linked to the business’ ABN)
• have incurred costs (as outlined in Section 5 of the guidelines) as a direct result of the circuit breaker action announced on 12 February 2021
• have an annual Victorian payroll of up to $3 million in 2019-20 on an ungrouped basis
• be registered for goods and services tax (GST) on 12 February 2021
• hold an Australian business number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 12 February 2021.

Note on the evidence of eligibility:

• If you are an employing business, you will need to provide the WorkCover Employer Number (WEN) or WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN) linked to the business
• Non-employing businesses (such as sole traders) need to provide an eligible proof of identity document.

The program seeks to assist eligible businesses that have incurred costs as a direct result of the circuit breaker action announced on 12 February 2021 which may include, but are not limited to:

• the loss of perishable goods (e.g. food or flowers)
• cancellation fees and charges (e.g. venue/performer/instructor)
• booking cancellations
• other costs and losses incurred due to the circuit breaker action that could not be reasonably avoided.

These costs may have been incurred prior to, on or after 12 February 2021. The costs must be incurred by the applying business, as defined by its ABN.

When applying for this grant you will need:

• a valid Australian business number (ABN) for your business in one of these eligible business sectors. The ANZSIC class linked to your ABN registration must be one of these eligible sectors.
• to confirm and attest to the costs you incurred, and commit to retaining evidence of applicable costs for 12 months.
• if you employ people, your WorkCover Employer Number (WEN) or, if this is yet to be issued, a WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN).
• if you do not employ people, details of a current proof of identity document (Australian driver’s licence, Australian passport, Medicare card and Australian visa information and foreign passport).

The program will be open for applications until the date the program funds are exhausted or 11:59 pm on 16 March 2021, whichever is earlier.

Applicants should check that their details on the Australian Business Register are correct prior to submitting an application. This includes ensuring that the industry classification (ANZSIC class code) linked to their ABN registration correctly captures their primary business activity.

Please contact us if you would like any further assistance.