Tax Alert - New $2,000 grants for Victorian small businesses to access professional advice

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

New $2,000 grants for Victorian small businesses to access professional advice

The Victorian Government has launched a new Small Business Specialist Advice Pathways Program for small business owners to access financial and legal advice. The program is designed to support businesses that have adapted, pivoted or changed their core business activities in response to disruptive change caused by COVID.

Eligible small businesses can receive a $2,000 grant to cover the costs of engaging a qualified service provider that can help with financial and legal advice.

The program has been allocated $5 million and any grants will be offered on a first come, first served basis, by the earlier of Friday 30 September 2022 or when funds are exhausted.

What are the eligibility criteria?

This program is for Victorian small businesses that employ staff and have been established and operating since at least 1 July 2020.

To be eligible for a grant, a business must meet the following requirements:

Be a legally structured business registered in Victoria with an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN on and from 1 July 2020;
Be registered with WorkSafe Victoria; and
Employ between 1 and 19 full-time equivalent staff.

In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria, any successful applicant must agree to the conditions outlined in the program guidelines (click here).

An applicant will need to provide one of the following forms of identification within their application:

Driver licence or learner permit issued by Vic Roads;
Australian Passport;
Medicare Card; or
Foreign passport for those issued with an Australian Visa.

The program also has prepared a list of Frequently asked questions (FAQs) – to see click here.

How will the grant funds be distributed?

Consider the eligibility criteria, program guidelines, and FAQs, then confirm your ABN has been registered since 1 July 2020, which can be done with the ABN checker (click here).
Grant funding of $2,000 per ABN is available for eligible expenses on relevant professional advice and services under the program, where the minimum expenditure cost is $2,000 (excluding GST).
The applicant will receive an upfront payment of $1,000 to engage with their preferred qualified service provider.
The applicant will receive a final grant instalment of $1,000 on the satisfactory conclusion of the service activity. Any approved businesses will be asked to complete a claim form to confirm that the project has concluded and;
Provide a statutory declaration stating that the activity has been completed and the Qualified Service Provider has been paid.
Complete the online claim form by 5pm on 31 January 2023.
Businesses will also be required to respond to a survey six months after they submit their application.

When will applications be assessed?

We understand that after applications are submitted before 30 September 2022, the assessment period for applications is expected to happen during October 2022. Furthermore, notifications are also expected to be made during October 2022.

If an application is missing any information, the applicant will be contacted to provide additional information to complete the process.

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

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