Page 2561 - Week 09 - Thursday, 16 September 2021
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applications to get this money paid as quickly as possible to eligible businesses, whilst ensuring the scheme is not defrauded.
Of the 7,558 applications received as at close of business yesterday, 3,471 have already been assessed and 1,325 applications have been approved, or a total of nearly $22 million. The remaining applications are being assessed by more than 100 officials dedicated to this job, to ensure that the grants flow to businesses as quickly as possible. We have also established a COVID-19 small business hardship scheme, which will allow eligible small businesses that demonstrate a 30 per cent revenue loss from the June quarter to the September quarter to receive up to $10,000 in credits for payroll tax, utility charges and rates.
Workers who have been unable to earn an income during the lockdown, including sole traders, have been eligible for the commonwealth government’s COVID-19 disaster payment. We acknowledge that some sectors will take longer to recover. The tourism and accommodation sectors, for example, had been particularly hard hit before our lockdown by ongoing border closures and travel restrictions, so we have provided a series of rebates on fixed charges and grants, depending on the size of the tourism operation.
As part of the announcement made yesterday on the extension of the business support grants scheme, the ACT and commonwealth governments have agreed to jointly fund a further grants scheme for businesses in the tourism, accommodation, arts and events, and hospitality industries. We estimate that approximately 2,000 businesses will be eligible for this additional one-off grant. The ACT government will also provide an additional $200 increase in the utilities concession, supporting the 31,000 most vulnerable households in our community. This is in addition to the $100 increase that was announced earlier, meaning the value of the concession for this current fiscal year will be $1,000 across 31,000 eligible households.
We have also put in place emergency support measures to help residential and commercial tenants and landlords impacted by the public health emergency. This includes waiving rent payments for community sector tenants of government-owned properties that have been affected by the public health crisis. In line with the support offered in 2020, commercial landlords who provide at least one month of rent relief to tenants that have been significantly affected by the pandemic will receive a credit on their commercial rates.
The ACT government has also extended the contracts for more than 110 staff in our Jobs for Canberrans program, which has provided employment opportunities to more than 500 people across priority areas within the ACT Public Service, including City Services, Access Canberra, health and education. We are also extending all other ACT public sector temporary contracts due to expire, by an additional six weeks. We are continuing to work with the community sector to bolster community services and outreach, and, today, the government announced a significant package of investment to ensure those that need it most in our community will continue to receive the support they need. This includes additional funding to continue to provide tailored and targeted support services and programs in the community.
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