Government funding could be a few clicks away

Like so many businesses, one of the HRIA closest partner’s, Strategic Alignment Training (SAT), has been significantly impacted by Covid-19.

As with the association, most of their work centres around bringing people together in one place, which has meant the fundamentals of their business have been removed because of social distancing.

Ironically, like so many firms, the thought of asking for a handout did not come naturally, despite this being one of the core functions of their own business; helping members leverage government grants.

“Our first concern was for the safety of our team and our clients, and we were grateful for the Government’s financial support during this period.” said Aileen Hiskins, MD. “Members think the application process might be too onerous, and simply don’t bother; but that’s not always the case”.

SAT applied for the JobKeeper Payment scheme and also for the Victorian Business Support Fund, $10,000 grant. These funds are still available but applications close on June 1st

The latter was a far easier process than we expected, and the time it took from the initial application, to the funds being granted and deposited was less than a week.

Aileen urges members to seek out available grants without delay, as they are often easier to apply for than you might think; and you never know when a particular grant might expire.

To apply for Victoria’s Business Support Fund, click here:

https://www.business.vic.gov.au/support-for-your-business/grants-and-assistance/business-support-fund

To qualify for the grant SAT needed to meet the criteria of:

• Have a turnover of more than $75,000; and
• Have a payroll of less than $650,000
• Hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 16 March 2020
• Have been engaged in carrying out the operation of the business in the Australian State of Victoria on 16 March 2020; and
• Operate in an industry sector that has been subject to closure or highly impacted by shutdown restrictions announced by the Victorian Government; OR Be enrolled as eligible participants in the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper Payment scheme.

To substantiate the online application, SAT simply needed to provide a GST notice, for any period in the 2019/20 tax year and an ATO Jobkeeper ID – which was obtained with a simple call to the ATO.

“This grant will make things a little easier during this period and I hope other members also take advantage of this support.”

For any assistance on how to apply for grants in your state, visit the HRIA Coronavirus page or talk to one of the HRIA partners.

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