News & Views

11th June 2021

Helping Victorian Businesses to Stay Safe

The five reasons to leave home will no longer apply. The existing 10-kilometre limit will be increased to 25 kilometres
Face masks are required inside and outdoors
Cafes, restaurants and pubs will open – with strict safety measures like density limits, seated service and QR codes in place
Retail will open – with density limit and QR codes
Hairdressing, beauty and personal care can resume, but only for services where face masks can be kept on
Weddings will be limited to 10 people, and funerals no more than 50. Fifty will also be the limit on religious gatherings
Swimming pools, entertainment venues and community facilities will also open subject to density limits
Community sport can happen, but only for training
If you can work from home, you should

Public outdoor gatherings will be limited to 20 people
Capacity limits will increase at restaurants, entertainment venues, community facilities and religious gatherings
Indoor sport, including gyms, will reopen with limits on the number of people permitted at any point in time

Electronic record keeping - key changes

The Victorian Government has announced the intention to move to compulsory QR code check-ins for all workplaces, with some limited exceptions.

DJPR will be consulting with industry on these plans over the coming days and further details will be announced soon

Current requirements include:

Every customer-facing business must use the free Victorian Government QR Code Service to check-in customers, workers and all other visitors. A complete list of sectors where this is mandatory is available here.
Venues can now check in guests who don’t have a smartphone via the Kiosk check-in function. This lets staff enter a customer’s name and contact phone number electronically making it easier for contact tracers to contact people quickly if an outbreak occurs.

Business Support

The Business Costs Assistance Program provides businesses in eligible sectors payments of up to $7,000
A further $2000 top-up payment will be available to businesses in metropolitan Melbourne, that are closed due to extended restrictions announced today
Around 3,700 businesses will be eligible for the top-up payment including: gyms, dance schools and yoga studios
New injection amounts to $8.4 million. This takes total support for businesses beyond $500 million
Applications for the Business Costs Assistance Program are open.
More information is available at business.vic.gov.au
Sole traders not registered for GST should check if they are eligible for the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Disaster Payment for people affected by restrictions, announced on 4 June. For more information, please visit servicesaustralia.gov.au

Victorian and Commonwealth Support Programs

Victorian Government Support
Business	$370m Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two grants of $2500 or $5,000 $8.4m top-up payment of 2000 for eligible metro businesses that remain closed due to extended restrictions announced 9 June
Hospitality	$70m Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 grants of $3500 regional venue or $7000 metro Melbourne venue
Events	$20m Victorian Events Support Package
Regional, Tourism and Alpine Businesses	$16m Regional Travel Voucher Scheme refund $200 for $400 spent on regional tours, accommodation, experiences $4.4m Alpine Support Program grants of $15000 for resorts and $5000 off-mountain

Commonwealth Government Support (excluding programs ending 30 June 2021)
Individuals	COVID-19 Disaster Payment: $325 - $500 per lockdown period > 7 days
Business	Export Market Development Grants for SME exporters. $500m COVID-19 Export Capital (loan) Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy (ends 30 September 2021). Temporary insolvency Relief JobMaker Hiring Credit Scheme incentives to hire 16-35 year old (ends 6 October 2021). Instant asset write-off for eligible businesses $3.5m Financial Counselling Package for small regional business $100m Regional Recovery Partnerships
Arts Industries	$20m Screen Fund for independent cinemas Temporary Interruption Fund for local film and television producers $5m Playing Australia Regional Recovery Investment for touring companies. $3m Culture, Heritage and Arts Regional Tourism Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand for artists and arts organisations Support Act artists, crew and music workers
Others	Aviation (ends 30 September 2021) Aviation Services Accreditation Support Program Domestic Airports Security Costs Support International Freight Assistance Mechanism Domestic Aviation Network Support Tourism Aviation Network Support

Getting tested and COVID-19 Vaccines

All Victorians over the age of 40 are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine
For more information on how to book your vaccine appointment, visit the Coronavirus website
If you are feeling unwell do not go to work. Anyone with symptoms should get tested immediately
The list of testing sites includes wait times
If you are worried you will lose pay while you wait for your results you may be eligible for a $450 COVID-19 Test Isolation Payment

Download Information Pack here