COVID-19: Government assistance programs available

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Government grants available to assist private, mid-market and family businesses affected by the impacts of COVID-19.

Grants available to assist private, mid-market and family business affected by COVID-19.

19 March 2021

Funding and cash flow programs available to assist private, mid-market and family businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Key takeaways

Federal and state governments have released a number of funding and cash flow programs to assist private, mid-market and family businesses.
Common criteria for applying for one of these programs includes that the applicant usually be a small to medium enterprise (SME) employing less than a threshold number of employees; and have aggregated turnover under, for example, $50 million.
Some of these programs have a strict application deadline.
Below is a detailed list of cash flow and funding programs that have been made available.

COVID-19 Government Assistance Programs at a glance

Current as at 19 March 2021

COVID-19 Government Assistance Programs at a glance

Current as at 19 March 2021

The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious impact on our people, our communities and our businesses – here and around the world. Federal and state government responses to the economic and social impact of the pandemic include immediate relief payments and concessions for individuals and businesses.

We have compiled a guide detailing current funding and cash flow programs that are available to your business if it’s being affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19.

In a very broad sense, common criteria you should be aware of when applying for one of these programs include: that the applicant usually be a small to medium enterprise (SME) employing less than a threshold number of employees; and have aggregated turnover under, for example, $50 million. Please note each one of these assistance programs will involve unique eligibility requirements and, if you are applying for one, care must be taken to ensure that the criteria is satisfied. Some of these financial assistance options are through cash grants, others are offered as a credit delivered through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). For more specific eligibility criteria and detail on existing COVID-19 grants, please refer to the table below.

For information on schemes being offered by your local councils, please contact them directly.

Key information for COVID-19 grant applications

Eligibility of applicant

Many of the available funding and cash flow programs will require some evidence of eligibility. Keep key documents to hand to prove eligibility if your business needs to apply. Typically, some of the documents required are:

proof of business registration
proof of impact or potential impact of COVID-19 (e.g. order cancellations)
evidence of business being small to medium enterprise (SME) employing less than 200 full time equivalent employees.

Federal government assistance

The federal government announced a $17.6 billion stimulus package on 12 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government announced a second stimulus package on 22 March 2020. For more information, visit our Federal Government Economic Response page.

Other programs

Other privately funded programs may also be available to you and your business – enquire at your financial institution for available assistance packages.

Additionally, if these government funding and cash flow programs do not meet your business’ specific needs, discretionary funding approaches may be made to local, state or federal members of parliament for circumstances that warrant funding on their own merit.

Applying for a grant

The most common way to apply for assistance is either through filling in forms online or via the phone.
Some of the programs on offer may pay out with minimal evidence requirements, however requests for assistance need to be provided within a specified timeframe.