UPDATED: Victorian Circuit Breaker Business Support Package

Building on the Circuit Breaker Business Support Package announced on Sunday 30 May 2021, the Victorian Government announced yesterday (2 June 2021) the various grant payments will be increased to help businesses and sole traders who are now entering a second week of lockdown restrictions.

This new support package should assist small to medium businesses and sole traders impacted by the circuit breaker restrictions (enacted on 28 May 2021 and currently extended to 10 June 2021), to support those businesses unable to operate due to these necessary public health measures, including targeted support for the events industry.

There are three initiatives available for eligible businesses as part of this latest Victorian Circuit Breaker Business Support Package.

1) Business Costs Assistance Program (Round Two)

UPDATE: 3 June 2021

The Business Costs Assistance Program (Round Two) grants for eligible businesses located in metropolitan Melbourne will be doubled from $2,500 to $5,000.

Regional businesses unable to open due to the ongoing restrictions, such as nightclubs and amusement parks, will also be eligible for the extended $5,000 payment.

Metropolitan businesses that will have restrictions eased from Friday 3 June 2021 will not be eligible for the extended payment and should receive the original $2,500 grant payment only.

The program will open for applications on Thursday 3 June 2021 and will remain open for applications for three weeks.

This second round of the Business Costs Assistance Program provides grants for eligible employing and non-employing businesses in sectors most impacted. This includes businesses operating in an industry that cannot operate under the circuit breaker restrictions and which cannot work remotely.

This program should help eligible businesses with costs incurred as a result of the circuit breaker action. For example, businesses may have incurred costs through loss of perishable food or produce and cancelled bookings.

More information in relation to the eligibility requirements will be available on the Victorian Business website shortly (click here).

To be alerted when the Business Costs Assistance Program is open for applications, please register for the Business Victoria Update newsletter (click here).

2) Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021

UPDATE: 3 June 2021

The Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 grants for businesses in metropolitan Melbourne with eligible liquor licences and food certificates will be doubled from $3,500 to $7,000.

The program will open for applications on Thursday 3 June 2021 and will remain open for applications for three weeks.

Eligible liquor licensees under the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund payment will be emailed directly by Business Victoria tomorrow, Thursday 3 June 2021, with a link to their grant application form.

The $40.7 million Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 program provides businesses holding an eligible liquor licence and food certificate with one grant per premises.

More information in relation to the eligibility requirements will be available on the Victorian Business website shortly (click here).

To be alerted when the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 is open for applications, please register for the Business Victoria Update newsletter (click here).

3) Victorian Events Support Package

As at 3 June 2021, there have been no updated details released in relation to this support package.

The $20 million package dedicated to supporting operators in the events industry who have incurred losses due to the circuit-breaker restrictions.

More information in relation to the eligibility requirements will be available on the Victorian Business website shortly (click here).

To be alerted when the Victorian Events Support Package is open for applications, please register for the Business Victoria Update newsletter (click here).

Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Audit Lowe Down – Contracts often include price variations relating to bonuses / penalties / rebates – why do we need to consider these early?

July 28, 2025

Contracts often include price variations relating to bonuses / penalties / rebates – why do we need to consider these early? Many revenue streams are covered by AASB 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The core principle of this standard is ‘that an entity shall recognise revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.’ [emphasis added]. To determine what we expect to receive, all elements of the contract that are not fixed need to be reviewed. We need to review contracts for: Volume discounts Rebates Refunds Performance bonuses Penalties Price concessions Once we have identified variable consideration then we need to estimate the amount expected to be received using either: the expected amount using a probability weighted average of the likely outcomes or the most likely outcome. The method chosen is the one deemed to be the best estimate of the expected consideration, and the amounts may be updated at each reporting date. Once the consideration has been determined, the entity recognises only the revenue that is highly probable will occur – this is known as the constraint on revenue recognition. Practically, the requirements discussed above for variable consideration are relevant only where an entity satisfies the requirements for revenue recognition over time and contract crosses a reporting date. As the estimate of the variable consideration changes, there may need to be a catch-up adjustment on previous revenue recognition for that contract.

Tax Alert - New Tax Agent Obligations from 1 July 2025

July 21, 2025

New Tax Agent Obligations from 1 July 2025 From 1 July 2025, “small” firms of tax practitioners (with 100 or less employees) must ensure they are complying with the eight new Code of Professional Conduct obligations from the Tax Practitioners Board ( TPB ). These new Code obligations were introduced by the Government under the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024. The new Code obligations have already commenced for large tax practitioners (with over 100 employees) from 1 January 2025. As tax agents, Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants are committed to upholding our professional and regulatory obligations, including with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 which includes the Code of Professional Conduct as regulated by the TPB.

Audit Lowe Down – Related parties – what should I consider in identifying them?

July 16, 2025

Related parties – what should I consider in identifying them? Related party disclosures is an area that is receiving more scrutiny from stakeholders in both the for-profit and the not-for-profit space. Disclosure of transactions that have occurred with related parties are important since the terms and conditions are often different from those with unrelated parties, in some instances the transactions may have occurred for much lower or even nil consideration. Often one of the biggest challenges for compiling the disclosures is working out who is a related party of an entity. The definition of related parties in AASB 124 Related Party Disclosures is detailed, however we have summarised the definition into various elements below. a. Think about entities who might be related to the reporting entity i.e.: i. through control or significant influence, ii. by the existence of material transactions or iii. dependence on technical information or personnel provided by them. b. Think about people who might be related to the reporting entity, i.e.: i. Key management personnel, including all directors. ii. Close family members of key management personnel (e.g. spouse, child). c. Think about entities that the people identified in b. might control or significant influence, i.e.: i. Family businesses ii. Businesses which a close family member controls (i.e. senior partner in a legal or accounting firm). Once you have identified a complete list of who is potentially a related party, analysis can then be performed to confirm they meet the criteria in AASB 124 and then identify any transactions with these parties. Remember that transactions should be included whether or not a price was charged or whether the transaction was formally documented or not.