Please read these guidelines before applying:

Employing businesses

Summary

Summary

On 31 December 2021, the Government of South Australia established the Business Hardship Grant to provide assistance to those businesses impacted by health restrictions in place from 27 December 2021, but are not eligible for the tourism, hospitality and gym grants.

Eligible employing businesses will be provided with a once-off $6,000 grant.

A further grant of $2,000 will be available for eligible businesses that operate from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD.

This document provides guidance for the Business Hardship Grant (December 2021) (employing business) applicants. Please read these Guidelines before applying.

Eligibility

Employing businesses are eligible to apply for the Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 provided they meet the following criteria.

General eligibility criteria

At the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Monday, 27 December 2021 a business must:

  • Have a valid and active Australian business number (ABN) and were carrying on the operation of a business in South Australia.
  • Be registered for the GST.
  • Employ people in South Australia.*
  • Have a total Australian grouped payroll of less than $10 million in the 2019-20 or 2020-21 financial year.
  • Not be engaged in illegal activities.

In addition:

For businesses that commenced operations before 1 December 2020:

  • For businesses that commenced trading prior to 2019-20:

    As a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022, a business must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 50 per cent for the consecutive two-week period when compared to the same two-week period (i.e. 27 December to 9 January) in 2019-20.
  • For businesses that commenced trading in 2019-20 or 2020-21 (before 1 December 2020):

    As a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022, a business must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 50 per cent for the consecutive two-week period when compared to the same two-week period (i.e. 27 December to 9 January) in 2019-20 or 2020-21.

For businesses that commenced operations on or after 1 December 2020:

  • As a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022, a business must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 50 per cent when compared to the average fortnightly turnover between when the business commenced and 30 November 2021.

Other criteria

Businesses will not be eligible to receive a Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 if they have received support under any of the following State Government COVID-19 support packages launched on and after 27 December 2021, including:

  • Tourism, hospitality and gym grant - automatic payment;
  • Tourism, hospitality and gym grant - turnover based payment; or
  • Major Events Support Grant.

* To be considered an employee, staff must be under the control of the business, receive regular PAYG salary or wages, and have Pay As You Go Withholding amounts as well as superannuation paid by the employer. An owner, partner, or beneficiary of a trust is not considered to be an employee for the purpose of this grant.

Businesses will be required to declare a reduction in turnover due to restricted trading conditions. They will not be required to provide any supporting information at the time of application but will be required to retain supporting information that could be made available if required such as:

  • Turnover comparison data for the relevant assessment periods;
  • Emails or texts to or from clients or suppliers detailing cancelled orders or appointments;
  • Receipts for refunds provided;
  • Invoices or delivery dockets.

Further eligibility criteria for the additional grant for businesses located in the CBD

At the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Monday 27 December 2021:

  • Operate the relevant business from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD#.

# The Adelaide CBD is defined as postcode 5000. Residential premises and vacant land are not considered commercial premises for the purpose of this grant.

General requirements

Applicants must certify that they meet the eligibility criteria when submitting an online application.

Applicants will be subject to audit by the Government of South Australia or its representatives and will be required to produce evidence at the request of the Government for a period of 2 years after the grant has been approved.

If any information in applications is found to be false or misleading, the grant will be repayable on demand.

Information suspected to be fraudulent may be referred to the South Australian Police for investigation.

Grant Amount

The Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 (employing business) amount is $6,000 per eligible business.

A further grant of $2,000 will be available for eligible businesses that operate from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD.

Grant Use

Grants are provided to support eligible businesses that have been adversely impacted by restrictions enacted by State or Commonwealth government due to COVID-19.  This may include for example:

  • Meeting business costs, including utilities, salaries, rent;
  • Seeking financial, legal or other advice to support business continuity planning;
  • Developing the business through marketing and communications activities; and / or
  • Other supporting activities related to the operation of the business.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to submit an application online via the Application Portal. All questions in the application need to be completed to ensure timely assessment and grant payment.

The online application must be completed by an Authorised Officer, being:

  • In the case of a business that is a sole trader that employs, the sole trader.
  • In the case of a business that is a partnership that employs, a partner.
  • In the case of a business that is a body corporate that employs, a director, secretary, public officer or equivalent.

Note: It is permissible for an agent such as an accountant or lawyer to submit the application on behalf of business provided they have been instructed to do so by the above Authorised Officer.

Applicants must meet the requirements of the grant, including that they employ staff to be eligible.

The Business Hardship Grants – December 2021 will be provided to successful applicants by the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF). Whether an applicant is successful or not will be determined by DTF in its absolute discretion. To access grant funding, applicants will be required to agree to Terms and Conditions at the time of application stipulating obligations and conditions under which assistance will be given to eligible applicants.  DTF will not be legally obliged to pay any grant monies to an applicant.

Potential applicants should note that information received in connection with an application may be used and communicated outside the Government of South Australia for due diligence purposes and may also be provided to the Commonwealth Government and third parties engaged by DTF to assist with the assessment and processing of the applications received, together with program monitoring, reporting, auditing and evaluation purposes.

Opening Date

Applications for the COVID-19 Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 (employing business) must be submitted via the Application Portal

Closing Date

Applications close midnight 31 March 2022.

Once an application has been submitted, applicants will receive an application receipt number via their nominated email address.

Further Information

If you require further information to participate in the program please refer to the FAQs or contact businessgrants@sa.gov.au

DTF reserves the right to amend these Guidelines and application terms as required.

Applicants should be aware that DTF is subject to certain legislative and administrative accountability and transparency requirements of the Commonwealth Government and Government of South Australia, including public disclosure in accordance with Premier and Cabinet policy.

DTF will treat all information provided by applicants sensitively. Any information contained in, or relating to, an application, including information identified by an applicant as confidential, may be disclosed by DTF:

  • to its employees, advisers or third-parties in order to assess, process and/or audit an application;
  • within the Government of South Australia or other entities where this serves the legitimate interest of DTF;
  • in response to a request by a House or Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia or South Australia;
  • where information is authorised or permitted by law to be disclosed; and/or
  • where the information is already in the public domain.

Non-employing businesses

Summary

On 31 December 2021, the Government of South Australia established the Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 to provide assistance to those businesses impacted by health restrictions in place from 27 December 2021, but are not eligible for the tourism, hospitality and gym grants.

Eligible non-employing businesses will be provided with a once-off $2,000 grant.

A further grant of $2,000 will be available for eligible businesses that operate from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD.

This document provides guidance for the Business Hardship Grant (December 2021) (non-employing business) applicants. Please read these Guidelines before applying.

Eligibility

Non-employing businesses are eligible to apply for the Business Hardship Grant provided they meet the following criteria.

General eligibility criteria

At the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Monday, 27 December 2021 a business must:

  • Have a valid and active Australian business number (ABN) and were carrying on the operation of a business in South Australia.
  • Be registered for the GST.
  • Not employ people in South Australia.*
  • Have a total Australian grouped payroll of less than $10 million in the 2019-20 or 2020-21 financial year.
  • Not be engaged in illegal activities.

In addition:

For businesses that commenced operations before 1 December 2020:

  • For businesses that commenced trading prior to 2019-20:

    As a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022, a business must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 50 per cent for the consecutive two-week period when compared to the same two-week period (i.e. 27 December to 9 January) in 2019-20.
  • For businesses that commenced trading in 2019-20 or 2020-21 (before 1 December 2020):

    As a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022, a business must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 50 per cent for the consecutive two-week period when compared to the same two-week period (i.e. 27 December to 9 January) in 2019-20 or 2020-21.

For businesses that commenced operations on or after 1 December 2020:

  • As a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022, a business must have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 50 per cent when compared to the average fortnightly turnover between when the business commenced and 30 November 2021.

Other criteria

Businesses will not be eligible to receive a COVID-19 Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 if they have received support under any of the following State Government COVID-19 support packages launched on and after 27 December 2021, including:

  • Tourism, hospitality and gym grant - automatic payment;
  • Tourism, hospitality and gym grant - turnover based payment; or
  • Major Events Support Grant.

* To be considered an employee, staff must be under the control of the business, receive regular PAYG salary or wages, and have Pay As You Go Withholding amounts as well as superannuation paid by the employer. An owner, partner, or beneficiary of a trust is not considered to be an employee for the purpose of this grant.

^Businesses will be required to declare a reduction in turnover due to restricted trading conditions. They will not be required to provide any supporting information at the time of application but will be required to retain supporting information that could be made available if required such as:

  • Turnover comparison data for the relevant assessment periods;
  • Emails or texts to or from clients or suppliers detailing cancelled orders or appointments;
  • Receipts for refunds provided;
  • Invoices or delivery dockets.

Further eligibility criteria for the additional grant for businesses located in the CBD

At the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Monday 27 December 2021:

  • Operate the relevant business from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD#.

# The Adelaide CBD is defined as postcode 5000. Residential premises and vacant land are not considered commercial premises for the purpose of this grant.

Turnover comparison criteria

An eligible non-employing business must declare and retain evidence of the following:

  • The relevant two week period between 27 December 2021 (beginning of restrictions) and 9 January 2022  where they experienced a 50 per cent reduction in turnover when compared to a same two week period (i.e. 27 December to 9 January) in 2019-20 or 2020-21 for businesses who do not have a trading history in 2019-20;

General requirements

Applicants must certify that they meet the eligibility criteria when submitting an online application.

Applicants will be subject to audit by the Government of South Australia or its representatives and will be required to produce evidence at the request of the Government for a period of 2 years after the grant has been approved.

If any information in applications is found to be false or misleading, the grant will be repayable on demand.

Information suspected to be fraudulent may be referred to the South Australian Police for investigation.

Grant Amount

The Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 (non-employing business) amount is $2,000 per eligible business.

A further grant of $2,000 will be available for eligible businesses that operate from a commercial premise located in the Adelaide CBD.

Where multiple non-employing businesses meeting the eligibility criteria are controlled by one individual, company, partnership, or trustee, funding will be restricted to one grant for all non-employing businesses controlled by the individual, company, partnership, or trustee.

Grant Use

Grants are provided to support eligible businesses that have been adversely impacted by restrictions enacted by State or Commonwealth government due to COVID-19.  This may include for example:

  • Meeting business costs, including utilities, salaries, rent;
  • Seeking financial, legal or other advice to support business continuity planning;
  • Developing the business through marketing and communications activities; and / or
  • Other supporting activities related to the operation of the business.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to submit an application online via the Application Portal. All questions in the application need to be completed to ensure timely assessment and grant payment.

The online application must be completed by an Authorised Officer, being:

  • In the case of a business that is a sole trader that employs, the sole trader.
  • In the case of a business that is a partnership that employs, a partner.
  • In the case of a business that is a body corporate that employs, a director, secretary, public officer or equivalent.

Note: It is permissible for an agent such as an accountant or lawyer to submit the application on behalf of business provided they have been instructed to do so by the above Authorised Officer.

Applicants must meet the requirements of the grant to be eligible.

The Business Hardship Grants – December 2021 will be provided to successful applicants by the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF). Whether an applicant is successful or not will be determined by DTF in its absolute discretion. To access grant funding, applicants will be required to agree to Terms and Conditions at the time of application stipulating obligations and conditions under which assistance will be given to eligible applicants.  DTF will not be legally obliged to pay any grant monies to an applicant.

Potential applicants should note that information received in connection with an application may be used and communicated outside the Government of South Australia for due diligence purposes and may also be provided to the Commonwealth Government and third parties engaged by DTF to assist with the assessment and processing of the applications received, together with program monitoring, reporting, auditing and evaluation purposes.

Opening Date

Applications for the Business Hardship Grant – December 2021 (non-employing business) must be submitted via the Application Portal

Closing Date

Applications close midnight 31 March 2022.

Once an application has been submitted, applicants will receive an application receipt number via their nominated email address.  

Further Information

If you require further information to participate in the program please refer to the FAQs or contact businessgrants@sa.gov.au

DTF reserves the right to amend these Guidelines and application terms as required.

Applicants should be aware that DTF is subject to certain legislative and administrative accountability and transparency requirements of the Commonwealth Government and Government of South Australia, including public disclosure in accordance with Premier and Cabinet policy.

DTF will treat all information provided by applicants sensitively. Any information contained in, or relating to, an application, including information identified by an applicant as confidential, may be disclosed by DTF:

  • to its employees, advisers or third-parties in order to assess, process and/or audit an application;
  • within the Government of South Australia or other entities where this serves the legitimate interest of DTF;
  • in response to a request by a House or Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia or South Australia;
  • where information is authorised or permitted by law to be disclosed; and/or
  • where the information is already in the public domain.