Attachment - Part 4

Support to businesses

Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Assistance Package

The $20 million Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Assistance Package announced on 29 July 2020 is designed to help small businesses through the challenges of COVID-19. The Package includes:

• a $15 million Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Grant program, which opened on 3 August 2020 and will close at 12 noon on 24 August 2020.
• an additional $2 million for a second round of the Small Business Continuity Grant program, which opened on 10 August 2020 and will close on 7 September 2020, or when the funding has been fully allocated, whichever occurs first.
• $3 million to enhance existing business support programs, including the Tourism Industry Market Support Program, access to additional free business advice through Enterprise Centres Tasmania, increased access to the Digital Ready for Business Program and additional initiatives to improve access to mental health support for small businesses through a new Mental Health Support Program.

The Small Business Sustainability and Recovery Grant Program is a competitive, merit based program with grants of $5,000 available based on the decisions made by an independent panel.

The Small Business Continuity Grant Program is a competitive program offering grants of $750 for eligible businesses to engage the services of suitably qualified specialists to advise them on business continuity planning and provide financial advice to assist with business recovery.

Small Business Emergency Support Grants

The Small Business Emergency Support Grants funding program provides grants of up to $2,500 to small businesses in hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program funding was extended by $13 million to $33 million, and Round Two of the program released on 8 April 2020 broadened the eligibility to include any business impacted rather than restricting it to certain sectors.

Applications for the grant funding closed on 4 May 2020, with 14,382 applications received, of which 13,298 were approved and paid. Funding under this program has now been fully allocated.

Small Business Hardship Grants

The Small Business Hardship Grants program opened on 28 March 2020 and closed on 4 May 2020 with almost 4,000 applications received. Initial funding of $20 million was allocated to this program to distribute $15,000 grants to eligible businesses.

1,330 businesses (72 per cent of applicants) were successful in receiving a Grant of $15,000 each, totalling $19.95 million. Of these successful applicants, 88 per cent reported realistic future job prospects of 4 FTE and greater and provided a clear plan for continued growth. The remaining 12 per cent of successful applicants were considered to have an elevated economic or social benefit to the community or were considered essential during the peak of the COVID‑19 restrictions.

An additional $6 million was allocated to this grant program to ensure stimulus funds would reach as many eligible small businesses as possible, bringing the total funding allocated to this program to $26 million. The additional funding was distributed in smaller hardship grants of $4,000 to those businesses who did not meet the threshold or qualify to receive a $15,000 grant. As a result, an additional 1,540 businesses (or 39 per cent of applicants) received grant funding of $4,000. Without this additional funding these businesses would not have received support.

A high number of applications were received under this program and limited funds resulted in over 1,000 applicants missing out on funding. The assessment process employed under this program was extensive and unfortunately not all applications could be funded.

The Department of State Growth continues to review individual applications of businesses seeking a review or feedback from Business Tasmania in relation to their Small Business Hardship grant application process. As at 31 July 2020, the Department had received 234 application requests and 56 recipients have received additional funding as a result of the review. The Department will continue to directly notify applicants of the outcome of their review.

Small Business Interest Free Loans Scheme

The Small Business Interest Free Loan Scheme provided $50 million in loans available for businesses with turnovers of less than $10 million. Applications closed on 11 May 2020 with final submissions due on 25 May 2020.

691 applications were submitted with a total of $92.676 million in business support requested. Of these, 364 applications were approved with a total of $35.293 million of support provided.

Business Continuity Grants

The Business Continuity Grant program provided grants up to $750 for businesses to seek cash flow and continuity advice with $1.56 million in funding provided. Applications closed on 4 May 2020, with 4,281 applications received, of which 2,080 have been approved and paid.

Digital Ready for Business program

As part of the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional $150,000 over two years has been allocated to the highly successful Digital Ready for Business program to help more businesses rapidly transition to online and digital models of commerce, promotion and customer engagement.

Demand for the program increased substantially and between 26 March 2020 and 24 July 2020, 458 two hour one-on-one coaching sessions have been held, compared to 287 sessions for the whole of 2019.

Regional Chambers of Commerce Grant

Funding support of $100,000 has been allocated to assist Regional Chambers of Commerce to respond to the economic impact of COVID-19 on their members and region, and to lay the foundation for recovery. Applications closed on 30 April 2020 and 13 applications were received. Eleven grants were approved covering 12 chambers (one was a joint application by two Chambers) who each received $8,330.

The Government has also provided $80,000 to assist the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) to provide a workplace relations advisory service to support businesses suffering as a result of COVID‑19. Under the grant, the TCCI is providing free advice to support businesses to manage their obligations in relation to their workforce industrial relations issues, including employer obligations, employee entitlements, changing workforce requirements, workplace health and safety and workers compensation. The TCCI is providing a workplace relations helpline (general, non-complex issues) and a workplace relations consultancy service (individualised advice on workplace issues).

As at 31 July 2020, a total of 765 calls had been made to the workplace relations helpline, and a total of 379 enquiries were received with regard to the workplace relations consultancy service.

Utility costs for small businesses

The Government has put in place measures to waive the payment of the first quarterly electricity (or the first three monthly electricity bills) issued on or after 1 April 2020 to the customer, in respect of energy use in the relevant billing period. Eligible businesses are being provided with the bill waiver through arrangements between the Government and electricity retailers. It is estimated that the waiver will apply to approximately 34,000 small business connection sites covering around 22,000 small business customers. The total estimated cost is expected to be between $22 million and $27 million. As at 30 June 2020 around $18 million in bill waivers had been applied.

Arrangements have been made with TasWater to waive the payment of the first quarterly water and sewerage bills issued on or after 1 April 2020 of small business customers that are eligible for the electricity waiver. The eligibility criteria is the same as that for the small business electricity bill waiver. The estimated cost of the bill waiver and the price freeze for 2020-21 is expected to be $25 million. As at 30 June 2020, around $4 million in bill waivers had been applied.

Infrastructure investment

On 4 June 2020, the Government announced its infrastructure investment package to reboot the Tasmanian economy and support around 15,000 jobs. The package builds on the Government’s current infrastructure package of $1.8 billion over the next two years, and in total will support an estimated construction value of $3.1 billion across the next two years. The package comprises the following initiatives:

Additional social housing dwellings

The Government is investing an additional $100 million under new agreements with community housing providers to deliver up to an additional 1,000 new social houses.

The Government will also bring forward funding of $14 million and provide new funding of $10 million to deliver 220 new social houses by 2022 – a year earlier than planned.

Expanded HomeShare Program

To stimulate a greater take-up of the HomeShare program, the Government will revise the eligibility thresholds for HomeShare.

HomeShare reduces the initial cost of buying a house and the monthly cost of owning it. The scheme opens the door to home ownership for those who have enough income to make the step but need a helping hand.

Income eligibility limits will be increased by up to 15 per cent and the maximum financial asset limit will also be increased to $100,000 to increase the number of households who can use HomeShare. The Government equity contribution has been increased to a maximum of $100,000 per house. It is estimated uptake would result in 150 home purchases including 75 new builds over two years. The estimated cost of this initiative is $9.3 million over two years.

HomeBuilder Grants

The Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant provides eligible owner-occupiers with a grant of $20,000 to build a new home. This grant complements the Australian Government’s new $25,000 HomeBuilder Grant, meaning Tasmanians can potentially access up to $45,000 for their new home build.

These grants will assist the residential construction market by encouraging the commencement of new home builds and renovations this calendar year.

As at 28 July 2020, 50 applications had been received for the Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant. For the Commonwealth HomeBuilder Grant program, 56 applications for new home builds and 8 applications for substantial renovations have been received.

The eligible period for both grants expires on 31 December 2020.

Essential services infrastructure

The Government is providing funding for the following essential services infrastructure projects:

• Regional Health and Ambulance Facilities Fund – $10 million will be provided to upgrade the facilities in Tasmania’s regional health facilities and rural stations.
• Burnie Court – $5.9 million of the $15 million investment to improve access to court services in the North West will be brought forward.
• Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLCs) – an additional $7 million will be provided for CFLCs, for a total investment of $28 million. This will fast-track five of the promised six CFLCs, across all parts of the State.
• Launceston Police Station Refurbishment – funding of $7 million will be provided to undertake urgent infrastructure upgrades and accommodation renovations to the Launceston Police Station. Improvements will include amenities upgrades, asbestos removal, security upgrades, structural repairs, and internal redevelopment.
• Emergency Services State Operations Centre – $3.5 million will be provided to establish a new State Operations Centre in a central location from which all emergency services may coordinate the response to emergencies.
• Police Housing Upgrades – $8.7 million will be provided to complete the upgrade of all police housing by June 2022. The Department has been progressing with the upgrade of police housing in line with the Government’s budget and Capital Investment Program (CIP) initiatives since 2014. The Department will complete the upgrade of the final 29 police houses over the next two years with this additional funding. These houses are located in various regional areas around the state and will provide a significant economic stimulus to a number of regional Tasmanian communities.
• Devonport High School – $3.5 million of the funding allocated for the $10.5 million redevelopment of the Devonport High School will be brought forward. This major redevelopment will include the provision of contemporary learning environments, support spaces and administration, and car park improvements.

Community infrastructure

The Government is providing funding for the following community infrastructure projects:

• Derwent Entertainment Centre – $68.5 million for the upgrade of the Derwent Entertainment Centre as a world class entertainment and sporting facility including $20 million for a community four court multisport facility.
• Cooee-Wynyard Coastal Pathway – an additional $12 million will be provided over two years to the Burnie City and Waratah-Wynhard Councils to complete the coastal pathway between Cooee and Wynyard along the disused rail corridor. The funding will enable works to repair existing damage threatening the rail embankment and further works necessary to protect the corridor from future erosion risks over the next 20 years.
• Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (RTBG) – an additional $4 million will fund significant upgrades and modernisation of the RTBG to meet expectations of visitors. In the last four years the Gardens have experienced a 40 per cent increase in visitation to 525,000 visitors annually. This has placed pressure on existing infrastructure and demonstrated the need for these upgrades.
• Cascades Female Factory – $3 million will contribute to the design and construction of a new visitor centre, which will include modern and accessible facilities. This project has already received Heritage Council and Hobart City Council approvals.
• Improving the Playing Field Fund – a $10 million fund will be established to provide grants to sporting clubs and associations to improve playing facilities across Tasmania. The grants are designed to encourage continued participation in sports following the interruption of competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic by improving the amenity of facilities for participants, officials and spectators. The grants program will also provide a valuable stimulus to the construction industry across urban and regional Tasmania.

Public building maintenance program

$50 million has been allocated to fund critical maintenance on public buildings and other publicly owned assets, to support the construction sector with ‘screw-driver and paint-brush ready’ projects. The Government subsequently provided an additional $20 million to the fund as part of the infrastructure investment package for economic recovery.

As at 31 July 2020, $9.65 million has been spent in relation to the projects announced as part of this Program, including over $4.9 million for work on Housing Tasmania properties around the State.

Projects are being delivered across a range of service delivery areas around the State, with large programs of work underway in schools, hospitals, health centres, ambulance stations, and public housing; as well as public amenities within Tasmania’s national parks and reserves.

Local Government Loans Program

The Local Government Loans Program has been increased from $150 million to $200 million.

As at 9 July 2020, total approved borrowings of $144.3 million have been provided to 21 Local Government Authorities under the Program. Applications received at that date include infrastructure projects such as upgrades to roads, bridges and jetties, stormwater improvements, and car park redevelopments. The cost of individual projects range from $5,000 to $6 million. Approval has also been provided to fund rates relief programs for the business and community sectors, and cash flow shortfalls and other operational initiatives.

The Program will close on 1 August 2020. Details of all approved projects are published on the Department of Treasury and Finance’s website.

Roads infrastructure

The Government will allocate $40 million for State road safety upgrades in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

The Government will also bring forward $40 million in road safety projects through an accelerated procurement tender process. This will provide the local construction industry with certainty of work and employment prospects over the coming months and into the next construction season.

The first tranche of projects under this package are now out to market, including safety upgrades on Highland Lakes Road at the ‘Pub with No Beer’ corner, improved turning facilities on the Bass Highway at Boat Harbour, and road widening and improved turning facilities on the Arthur Highway at Eaglehawk Neck. A further nine projects will be put to market under this process and will include bridge strengthening works, the upgrade of Binalong Bay Road, the Bruny Island landside infrastructure, and road widening works on the Midland Highway between Powranna and Tunbridge.

Irrigation schemes

The Government is investing a further $15 million to meet the increased demand for the first 5 schemes of the Pipeline to Prosperity irrigation scheme. The $28.51 million, 5,000ML Don Irrigation Scheme in the North West is due to commence construction early in 2021, delivering 130 direct and indirect jobs once all the scheme water is fully utilised. Tasmania’s nation-leading irrigation schemes are underpinning agricultural production and boosting farm productivity across the State, enabling farmers to diversify, value add and expand their existing farming operations.

Schemes in Fingal, Northern Midlands, Sassafras/Wesley Vale and Tamar districts are progressing and will provide farmers in each district with confidence to invest further in growing their businesses.

Trades and Water Centre for Excellence

The Government’s vocational education and training system is critical to rebuilding Tasmania, providing the skills needed to support local jobs for industry productivity. To skill up local Tasmanians for local jobs in the construction and civil contracting industries, including the water and sewerage infrastructure sector, the Government has brought forward and re-capitalised the TasTAFE Trades and Water Centre of Excellence promised at the 2018 State election.

An initial $7 million was provided for this initiative in the 2019-20 Budget. The Government will now provide a further $7 million for the new $14 million Trades and Water Centre of Excellence, which will be a key driver in delivering the skills needed to rebuild Tasmania. It will have its own industry-based Board, to ensure its operations and training align with the skill needs of employers.

Tasmanian Economic and Social Investment Fund

The Government will implement arrangements whereby up to 10 per cent of the Retirement Benefits Fund (RBF)’s investments will be invested in Tasmania to provide an economic and social return for the State.

The Fund will be used to identify suitable investments outside of Government in the private sector that can be supported across the economy to increase economic activity, create jobs and strengthen social outcomes. This could see up to $200 million flow into investments in Tasmania.