Victorian Government announces Business Survival Package worth $3bn

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

Victorian Government announces Business Survival Package worth $3bn

Yesterday (13 September 2020) the Victorian Government announced another round of cash grants, tax relief and cashflow support packages to assist Victorian businesses that have been most affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

The Business Survival Package will provide the following:

Small and medium sized business ($822 million): The third round of the Business Support Fund will provide up to $20,000 for business with a payroll of up to $10 million.
Licensed Hospitality Business ($251 million): Grants for licensed pubs, clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants and reception centres of up to $30,000 (based on their venue capacity and location).
Alpine businesses ($4.3 million): Grants of up to $20,000 to help alpine businesses pay a service charge to Alpine Resort Management Boards.
Business Chambers & Trader Groups ($3 million): A competitive grants program to support business chambers & trader groups in metropolitan and regional Victoria. Also, other Victorian Government departments/agencies have announced the following:
Payroll tax deferral for entire 2020-21 year for businesses with payroll wages up to $10 million. (We must stress that this is a deferral, and not a waiver, so it will still need to be paid over time).
The planned land fill levy rate rise has been deferred for six months to 1 January 2021.
The 50% stamp duty discount for commercial and industrial property for all of regional Victoria has been brought forward to 1 January 2021.
The Congestion Levy will be reduced, by waiving 25% of the levy and the outstanding balance being deferred for 2020-21.
The liquor license fee will be waived for 2020-21.
The Vacant Residential Land Tax will be waived for properties that were vacant in 2020.

While full details of each announcement has not been released yet, we have provided the information available as at 14 September 2020 under each of the ten headings below. Further updates will be provided as more information become available.

1) Third round of the Business Support Fund

What support is available?

It is expected that approximately 75,000 eligible businesses with payrolls up to $10 million will receive grants of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 (depending on the size of the businesses' annual turnover).

To be eligible for a grant from this program, applicants must:

operate a business located within Victoria; and
participate in the Commonwealth Government's JobKeeper Payment scheme; and
employ people and be registered with WorkSafe; and
have had an annual payroll of less than $10 million in 2019-20; and
be registered for Goods and Services Tax ( GST ); and
hold an Australian Business Number ( ABN ); and
be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator.

An eligible business will receive:

$10,000 if its annual payroll is less than $650,000;
$15,000 if its annual payroll is between $650,000 and $3 million; or
$20,000 if its payroll is between $3 million and $10 million.

We understand that a full list of the eligibility criteria for this grant package will be published when applications open.

How to apply?

Applications should open soon, and be made via the Business Victoria website – click here .

2) Grants for licensed pubs, clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants and reception centres up to $30,000

Grants of between $10,000 and $30,000 will be available for eligible licenced venues, such as bars, restaurants, pubs, clubs, hotels and reception centres.

This program will help to build on the previously announced Hospitality Business Grant program which was offering one-off grants up to $25,000. We released a Tax Alert on 24 August 2020 detailing the three distinct grant assistance programs for Victorian hospitality businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, and how to apply for these grants – click here.

This new grant funding program will be based on venue capacity and location, however no specific details have been made available at this time.

_________________________________________________________________

3) Grants for Alpine businesses of up to $20,000

Victorian ski fields have not been able to open for their usual winter season, and so this relief package to provide grants of up to $20,000 to help cover resort fees. No specific details have been made available at this time.

__________________________________________________________________

4 ) Grants for Business Chambers & Trader Groups of up to $20,000

The Government will also partner with local business groups and chambers of commerce, with grants of up to $20,000 so they can help their members adapt and assist their recovery moving into a COVID-Normal world. No specific details have been made available at this time.

5) Payroll Tax deferral for entire 2021-2021 yea r

Reminder of previous Payroll Tax relief measures

We note that businesses with annual payroll wages up to $3 million have already had their payroll tax for the 2019-20 year waived. Those eligible businesses must continue to lodge returns but do not need to make further payments for the 2019-20 year. Those businesses could also defer paying payroll tax for the first quarter of the 2020-21 year.

Also, we note that eligible businesses with payroll wages up to $10 million could defer payment of their payroll tax liability for the first half of the 2020-21 year.

Latest announcement for Payroll Tax deferred for entire 2020-21 financial year

Businesses with payroll wages of up to $10 million will now have their payroll tax deferred for the entire 2020-21 year.

We must stress that this is a deferral, and not a waiver , and eligible businesses will be required to pay their 2020-21 payroll tax liabilities in four quarterly instalments during in the 2021-22 income year:

Liabilities for July, August and September 2020 will be due on 7 September 2021.
Liabilities for October, November and December 2020 will be due on 7 December 2021.
Liabilities for January, February and March 2021 will be due on 7 March 2022.
Liabilities for April, May and June 2021 will be due on 7 June 2022.

Membership of a payroll tax group is not considered in determining whether or not the member's Victorian taxable wages for the 2019-20 year exceeded the $10 million threshold.

To be eligible for this deferral measure, an employer must lodge their:

2019-20 annual reconciliation return; and
monthly payroll tax returns for the months of July 2020 through to June 2021.

6) Landfill levy rate rises deferred

The Victorian Government will defer the planned adjustments to landfill levy rates for six months while local government, households and businesses are dealing with the impact of COVID-19.

The first adjustment will be delayed until 1 January 2021.

_____________________________________________________________________

7) Duty concession for commercial or industrial properties in regional Victoria

The 50% stamp duty discount for commercial and industrial property across all of regional Victoria will be brought forward to 1 January 2021.

There is no limit to the number of times a person can claim this relief. To qualify, the dutiable property must be used solely or primarily for a qualifying commercial or industrial land use for a continuous period of at least 12 months , commencing in the two years following the date of transfer.

The status as commercial or industrial property is determined by reference to the land uses set out in the Australian Valuation Property Classification Codes.

8) 25% Waiver of 2020 Congestion Levy

The Victorian Government has announced a 25% waiver of 2020 congestion levy liabilities, with the due date for paying the balance of 2020 congestion levy liabilities extended until 31 March 2021.

______________________________________________________________________

9) Liquor License Fees waived for 2021

Just as renewable liquor licence fees were waived for 2020, this relief has been extended to also waive liquor license fees for 2021.

We understand that this relief will be structured by allowing eligible businesses to simply not pay their 2021 renewal fees, instead of using a refund system.

________________________________________

10) Full waiver of 2021 Vacant Residential Land Tax

Travel and property inspections restrictions imposed in the Melbourne metropolitan area have caused many properties, that would otherwise be occupied, to currently be vacant.

A full waiver of 2021 Vacant Residential Land Tax ( VRLT ) liabilities has been announced, and this should assist many residential property owners in Melbourne's inner and middle suburbs, that have had their properties vacant for more than six months in 2020.

We understand that further information about this relief measure will be available shortly via the coronavirus page at the Victorian SRO website – click here.

Finally we note that some businesses may be eligible for a number of different support measures, and thus it is very important to carefully consider the eligibility requirements of each relief package.

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 – 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.

Practice Update – July 2025

July 4, 2025

Changes to car thresholds from 1 July The car limit for the 2026 income year is $69,674. This is the highest value that a taxpayer can use to calculate depreciation on a car where they use the car for work or business purposes and they first use or lease the car in the 2026 income year. If a taxpayer is buying a car and the price is more than the car limit, the highest input tax ( GST ) credit they can claim (except in certain circumstances) is one-eleventh of the car limit. For the 2026 income year, the highest input tax credit they can claim is $6,334 (i.e. one-eleventh of $69,674). The luxury car tax ( LCT ) threshold for the 2026 income year is $91,387 for fuel-efficient vehicles, and $80,567 for all other luxury vehicles. Input tax credits need to be claimed within the four-year time limit. A taxpayer cannot claim an input tax credit for luxury car tax when they buy a luxury car, even if they use it for business purposes.

Audit Lowe Down – Large proprietary limited – are you one? Tips and traps for your assessment

July 1, 2025

Large proprietary limited – are you one? Tips and traps for your assessment. In Australia, being classified as a large proprietary limited company means that you have to prepare, and lodge audited financial statements with ASIC under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act), however many companies are not necessarily applying the thresholds appropriately. A proprietary company is large if it meets at least 2 of the following thresholds: Consolidated revenue ≥ $50 million Consolidated gross assets ≥ $25 million 100 or more employees. These thresholds seem simple, however some points to note: The calculations must be performed applying ALL accounting standards so even if you are preparing special purpose financial statements, then you will need to assess these thresholds as if you were applying all standards, including: AASB 16 Leases – this standard would add a right of use asset to your balance sheet potentially significantly increasing your gross assets. AASB 10 Consolidated Financial Statements – if you have controlled entities then the inclusion of their income statement and balance sheet may significantly increase each of the thresholds. AASB 128 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures / AASB 11 Joint Arrangements – if you have entities over which you have significant influence or joint control then applying equity accounting or including your share of assets and revenue would affect the thresholds. In determining the number of employees, the Act is clear that it is all full-time and part-time employees (on a pro-rata basis), however casual employees need to be considered. For example, are they genuinely casual with varying hours / shifts each week or are they in substance a permanent member of your team but just employed on a casual basis. The thresholds need to be met at the end of the financial year and therefore entities should track their performance during the year so they are aware if they will meet the definition of a large proprietary company at year end.