The news around COVID-19 continues to move fast. Governments are moving to alleviate the impact on individuals and businesses. Today’s stimulus had the following measures included.
SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS
Welfare payments: $18.1bn
Welfare recipients receive an extra $550 a fortnight on top of their current benefits, essentially doubling the newstart payment.
Coronavirus supplement time-limited for next six months.
Waiting times and asset tests for JobSeeker Payment waived.
Extra one-off $750 payment for welfare recipients and veterans, on top of the $750 announced for them in the last round of stimulus measures. The 2nd $750 will arrive in July.
Superannuation: $1.2bn
Unemployed, casuals and sole traders will be able to access their superannuation funds.
People can apply to access up to $10,000 in this financial year. Another $10,000 will be accessible in the next financial year.
Minimum superannuation drawdown rates for retirees and others reduced by 50 per cent until 2021.
Deeming rates: $876m
Deeming rates lowered in line with the Reserve Bank’s emergency rates cut.
Expected to benefit up to 900,000 pensioners.
SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYERS: $31.9BN
Jobs payments
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to get up to $100,000 to keep staff in jobs.
Payment linked to business PAYG Withholding. 100 per cent of tax businesses withhold from staff’s wages: the more staff you have, the more money you get back (up to a limit of $100,000).
Businesses with turnovers of up to $50m and charities eligible.
Cash flow for SMEs
Cash flow injection into small businesses from last stimulus package boosted.
Minimum payment rises from $2000 to $10,000. Maximum payment from $25,000 to $50,000.
WIDER SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES
SME loan guarantee: $20bn
Federal government will guarantee 50 per cent of loans to small businesses.
Government guarantee will support up to $40bn of banks’ lending to SMEs.
Insolvency and bankruptcy
Threshold for creditors to take action raised from $2000 to $20,000.
Businesses will have six months, instead of 21 days to respond to creditors.
Further information and fact sheets are available at https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus