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: 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.

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:

House Construction	3011
Other Residential Building Construction	3019
Non-Residential Building Construction	3020
Road and Bridge Construction	3101
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction	3109
Land Development and Subdivision	3211
Site Preparation Services	3212
Concreting Services	3221
Bricklaying Services	3222
Roofing Services	3223
Structural Steel Erection Services	3224
Plumbing Services	3231
Electrical Services	3232
Air Conditioning and Heating Services	3233
Fire and Security Alarm Installation Services	3234
Other Building Installation Services	3239
Plastering and Ceiling Services	3241
Carpentry Services	3242
Tiling and Carpeting Services	3243
Painting and Decorating Services	3244
Glazing Services	3245
Landscape Construction Services	3291
Hire of Construction Machinery with Operator	3292
Other Construction Services n.e.c.	3299
Heavy Machinery and Scaffolding Rental and Hiring	6631
Other Motor Vehicle and Transport Equipment Rental and Hiring	6619

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:

Payroll	Grant Amount
Sole Trader, no employees	$2,000
$650,000	$2,800
$650,001 - $3,000,000	$5,600
$3,000,000 - $10,000,000	$8,400

For more information

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