The state government has announced a $41.5 million support package for the thousands of small businesses affected by last week’s four-day lockdown.
The state government has announced a $41.5 million support package for the thousands of small businesses affected by last week’s four-day lockdown.
The relief, unveiled by the state government this afternoon, will allow businesses that lost more than 30 per cent of their revenue as a result of the lockdown and subsequent transitional restrictions to apply for a $3,000 grant.
The latest round of the Small Business Lockdown Assistance Grants program will also be available to regional businesses in WA likely to have been impacted by the lockdown, which was implemented on the eve of the school holidays.
More than 17,700 businesses across WA are expected to be eligible for the program, including those in hospitality, catering, fitness, hair and beauty, and creative and performing arts.
Payments are expected to begin by the end of the month.
The last round of lockdown assistance grants saw 7,000 businesses allocated more than $13 million for losses incurred during the ANZAC Day long weekend lockdown.
Over the past year, the state government has also implemented a host of other relief initiatives, including $1.3 billion in electricity bill relief, payroll tax and licencing fee waivers, and one-off grants.
Premier Mark McGowan acknowledged the impact the lockdown measures had on small businesses and the sacrifices they had made, having written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to request workers in the Perth and Peel regions also receive the Australian Government COVID-19 Disaster Payment.
The announcement coincided with confirmation that WA was on track to lift all interim COVID restrictions by Monday, July 12, having recorded no new locally-acquired cases today.
The Perth and Peel regions entered a four-day circuit-breaker lockdown last Monday after two people contracted the virus from a returned traveller who had visited Bondi, the epicentre of Sydney’s latest COVID-19 outbreak.
In the days that followed, the state recorded a further three cases of community transmission of the virus, which genomic sequencing confirmed was the highly contagious Delta variant.
Under the light transitional restrictions, restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, casinos, nightclubs, entertainment venues and public venues were required to comply with a four square metre rule and later a two square metre capacity rule and capacity limits.
