Support for the Victorian Building Industry

With the Victorian Building Industry re-opening this week following its two week COVID shutdown, the Victorian State Government has recently announced a support package for affected businesses in the form of one-off cash grants. 

This comes at a cost for the Victorian budget of $196.6 million.  In announcing this measure, the Victorian Government was quick to point out that this was a Victorian only measure – no support was provided by the Commonwealth Government in relation to this support package.

Eligibility

Eligible building and construction businesses will be able to apply for a one-off cash grant from mid-October as part of the fourth round of the Business Costs Assistance Program. 

To be eligible, a business must: 

• be registered under a relevant construction sector ANZSIC code (see below);
• have an annual Victorian payroll of less than $10 million;
• have incurred direct costs as a result of restrictions in place between 21 September 2021 and 4 October 2021 which have not been recovered (either in part or fully); and
• be GST registered.

Relevant construction sector ANZSIC Codes are:

In addition, eligible businesses must:

• have a worksite located in metropolitan Melbourne, the City of Greater Geelong, the Mitchell Shire or the Surf Coast Shire;
• not have been able to operate remotely during the shut down; and
• not have received any of the following payments:
• Business Costs Assistance Round 2
• Business Costs Assistance Round 2 – July extension payment
• Small Business COVID Hardship Fund

Grants

Eligible businesses will be entitled to one-off cash grants based on the size of the entity’s Victorian payroll. 

These will be:

For more information

Applications for grants can be made from mid-October, please contact your local RSM adviser today.