Queensland Consolidated Regulations

RURAL AND REGIONAL ADJUSTMENT REGULATION 2011 - SCHEDULE 37

SCHEDULE 37 – COVID-19 business support grants scheme (August 2021)

Part 1 - Preliminary

1 Objectives of scheme

The objectives of the scheme are—

(a) to provide assistance to small and medium-sized businesses and non-profit organisations, and large tourism and hospitality businesses and non-profit organisations, that—

(i) have been affected by a lock down event; or

(ii) were trading in the border area on 31 July 2021 and have been affected by a border closure event; and

(b) if border closure events have been in effect throughout the ongoing hardship eligibility period—to provide additional assistance to businesses and non-profit organisations for which an applicant has received, or is eligible to receive, an initial grant and that—

(i) were trading in the border area on both 31 July 2021 and 14 October 2021; and

(ii) have been affected by the border closure events throughout the ongoing hardship eligibility period.

2 Purposes of assistance

(1) The purposes of assistance under the scheme are—

(a) to provide relief and support—

(i) for eligible entities in relation to a lock down event; and

(ii) for eligible entities that were trading in the border area on 31 July 2021 and have been affected by a border closure event; and

(b) if border closure events have been in effect throughout the ongoing hardship eligibility period—to provide additional relief and support for eligible entities for which an applicant has received, or is eligible to receive, an initial grant and that—

(i) were trading in the border area on both 31 July 2021 and 14 October 2021; and

(ii) have been affected by the border closure events throughout the ongoing hardship eligibility period.

(2) However, assistance under the scheme is not intended to compensate eligible entities for loss of income suffered as a result of a lock down event or border closure event.

3 Definitions for schedule

In this schedule—

"ANZSIC" means the document called ‘Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)’ published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Note—

ANZSIC is available on the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ website.

Editor’s note—

The maps are available on the authority’s website.

(a) the revoked public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 35)’ made on 14 August 2021; or

(b) the revoked public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 36)’ made on 18 August 2021; or

(c) the revoked public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 37)’ made on 21 August 2021; or

(d) the revoked public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 38)’ made on 24 August 2021; or

(e) the revoked public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 39)’ made on 25 August 2021; or

(f) the revoked public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 40)’ made on 4 September 2021; or

(g) the public health direction called ‘Border Restrictions Direction (No. 41)’ made on 13 September 2021; or

(h) another public health direction that—

(i) restricts the reasons for which a person may enter Queensland from an area within a postcode listed in schedule 3 of the revoked public health direction mentioned in paragraph (a) ; and

(ii) applies while all of the postcodes mentioned in subparagraph (i) are identified in a public health direction as a COVID-19 hotspot.

(a) the revoked public health direction called ‘Restrictions for Locked Down Areas (South-East Queensland) Direction’ made on 31 July 2021; or

(b) the revoked public health direction called ‘Restrictions for Locked Down Areas (South-East Queensland) Direction (No. 2)’ made on 1 August 2021; or

(c) the public health direction called ‘Restrictions for Locked Down Areas (Cairns and Yarrabah) Direction’ made on 8 August 2021; or

(d) another public health direction, other than a COVID-19 border restrictions direction, that—

(i) takes effect in August 2021; and

(ii) restricts the reasons for which people may leave their homes.

(a) an eligible business; or

(b) an eligible non-profit organisation.

(a) a government entity within the meaning of the Public Service Act 2008 , section 24 ; or

(b) a local government; or

(c) a government owned corporation; or

(d) an Australian government agency or sovereign entity within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cwlth) ; or

(e) an entity that is wholly owned by an entity mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

(a) 2018–2019;

(b) 2019–2020;

(c) 2020–2021.

(a) accommodation;

(b) cafes and restaurants, takeaway food and catering services, pubs, taverns and bars, and clubs (hospitality);

(c) museum operation;

(d) zoological and botanic garden operation and nature reserves and conversation park operation;

(e) performing arts operation, performing arts venue operation, and amusement parks and centres operation;

(f) casino operation and other gambling activities;

(g) scenic and sightseeing transport and water passenger transport;

(h) travel agency and tour arrangement services.

4 Meaning of employee

(1) An individual who is employed, or ordinarily employed, by a business or non-profit organisation is an
"employee" of the business or organisation.

(2) To remove any doubt, it is declared that none of the following persons is an employee of a business—

(a) if the owner of the business is a sole trader—the owner;

(b) if the owner of the business is a partnership, private company, public company or trust—the partners in the partnership, directors of the company or trustees of the trust.

(3) Also, a person who performs work under a contract for services with a business or non-profit organisation, including, for example, a subcontractor, is not an employee of the business or non-profit organisation.

5 Meaning of eligible business

(1) A business is an
"eligible business" if—

(a) an entity—

(i) holds an Australian Business Number for the business; and

(ii) has continuously held the same Australian Business Number for the business since 30 June 2021; and

(b) the business is registered for GST; and

(c) the business has its headquarters in Queensland and was trading in Queensland on 31 July 2021; and

(d) the business has at least 1 employee; and

(e) either—

(i) the annual turnover of the business for any of the relevant financial years was more than $75,000; or

(ii) both of the following apply—

(A) the business has been operating for a period of less than 1 financial year;

(B) according to its financial records, the turnover of the business for the 2021–2022 financial year can reasonably be expected to be more than $75,000; and

(f) for a business that paid wages and superannuation to its employees during any relevant financial year totalling more than $10,000,000—the primary activity of the business is a tourism and hospitality activity; and

(g) none of the following entities is an insolvent under administration or is in administration, receivership or liquidation—

(i) the business;

(ii) if the owner of the business is a sole trader—the owner;

(iii) if the owner of the business is a partnership, private company, public company or trust—the partners in the partnership, directors of the company or trustees of the trust.

(2) However, a business is not an
"eligible business" if—

(a) the business is a government entity; or

(b) the business’s only source of income is 1 or more of the following—

(i) earnings from rental properties;

(ii) interest earned on investments;

(iii) dividends; or

(c) the owner of the business is a sole trader who has received, or is eligible to receive, a COVID-19 disaster payment (Cwlth) in relation to a lock down event or border closure event.

(3) In this section—

"COVID-19 disaster payment (Cwlth)" means a payment covered by the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Regulations 1997 (Cwlth) , schedule 1AB , part 4 , item 492.

6 Meaning of eligible non-profit organisation

(1) A non-profit organisation is an
"eligible non-profit organisation" if—

(a) the organisation—

(i) holds an Australian Business Number; and

(ii) has continuously held the same Australian Business Number since 30 June 2021; and

(b) the organisation is registered for GST; and

(c) the organisation has its headquarters in Queensland and was trading in Queensland on 31 July 2021; and

(d) the organisation has at least 1 employee; and

(e) either—

(i) the annual turnover of the organisation for any of the relevant financial years was more than $75,000; or

(ii) both of the following apply—

(A) the organisation has been operating for a period of less than 1 financial year;

(B) according to its financial records, the turnover of the organisation for the 2021–2022 financial year can reasonably be expected to be more than $75,000; and

(f) for an organisation that paid wages and superannuation to its employees during any relevant financial year totalling more than $10,000,000—the primary activity of the organisation is a tourism and hospitality activity; and

(g) neither the organisation, nor a member of the organisation’s governing body, is an insolvent under administration or is in administration, receivership or liquidation.

Examples of members of the organisation’s governing body—

• a director of the organisation

• a member of the organisation’s management committee

• a trustee of the organisation

(2) However, a non-profit organisation is not an
"eligible non-profit organisation" if—

(a) the organisation is a government entity; or

(b) the organisation’s only source of income is 1 or more of the following—

(i) earnings from rental properties;

(ii) interest earned on investments;

(iii) dividends.

Part 2 - General provisions of scheme

7 Nature and amount of assistance

(1) The nature of the assistance available to an applicant under the scheme is the grant of financial assistance for an eligible entity.

(2) For an applicant who is eligible to receive assistance under the scheme for an eligible entity under section 8 , a grant of financial assistance (an
"initial grant" ) is payable under the scheme in the amount of—

(a) $10,000, if—

(i) the eligible entity’s wages and superannuation amount for a relevant financial year was less than $1,300,000 or the entity was not trading during any relevant financial year; and

(ii) paragraphs (b) and (c) do not apply; or

(b) $15,000, if—

(i) the eligible entity’s wages and superannuation amount for a relevant financial year was not less than $1,300,000 but not more than $10,000,000; and

(ii) paragraph (c) does not apply; or

(c) $30,000, if—

(i) the eligible entity’s wages and superannuation amount for a relevant financial year was more than $10,000,000; and

(ii) the primary activity of the entity is a tourism and hospitality activity.

(2A) Also, for an applicant who is eligible to receive assistance under the scheme for an eligible entity under section 8A , an additional grant of financial assistance (an
"ongoing hardship grant" ) in the amount of $5,000 is payable under the scheme.

(3) In this section—

"wages and superannuation amount" , of an eligible entity for a relevant financial year, means the total of the wages and superannuation paid by the eligible entity to its employees during the relevant financial year.

8 Eligibility criteria for initial grant

(1) For an applicant to be eligible to receive an initial grant under the scheme for an eligible entity, the applicant must—

(a) be—

(i) if the entity is an eligible business—an owner of the business; or

(ii) the eligible non-profit organisation; and

(b) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the authority—

(i) the matters mentioned in subsection (2) or (3) ; and

(ii) that the turnover of the eligible entity for the nominated 7-day period is at least 30% less than the entity’s turnover for the comparison period.

(2) For subsection (1) (b) (i) , if the application for assistance relates to a lock down event, the matters are that during a nominated 7-day period, the eligible entity has—

(a) been required to stop operating or limit its operations because of a lock down event; or

(b) otherwise been affected by a lock down event.

(3) Also for subsection (1) (b) (i) , if the application for assistance relates to a border closure event, the matters are that the eligible entity—

(a) was trading in the border area on 31 July 2021; and

(b) has been affected by a border closure event during a nominated 7-day period.

(4) However, an applicant is not eligible to receive an initial grant for an eligible entity for which the applicant or any other person has received an initial grant in relation to the same, or any other, lock down event or border closure event.

(5) In this section—

"comparison period" , in relation to a nominated 7-day period, means—

(a) the period in 2019 comprising the same days as the nominated 7-day period; or

Example for paragraph (a)—

If the nominated 7-day period is 31 July to 6 August 2021, the comparison period would be 31 July to 6 August 2019.

(b) if the authority considers the period mentioned in paragraph (a) is not indicative of the eligible entity’s typical weekly turnover unaffected by a lock down event or border closure event—another period of 7 consecutive days the authority considers is comparable to the nominated 7-day period.

Examples of circumstances in which paragraph (b) may apply—

• the eligible entity was not operating during the period mentioned in paragraph (a)

• the eligible entity’s turnover during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) was affected by a significant event

"nominated 7-day period" means a period of any 7 consecutive days—

(a) that is nominated by the applicant; and

(b) at least 1 full day of which is included in the period of the lock down event or border closure event to which the application for assistance relates.

8A Eligibility criteria for ongoing hardship grant

(1) For an applicant to be eligible to receive an ongoing hardship grant for an eligible entity—

(a) the applicant must have received, or be eligible to receive, an initial grant for the eligible entity; and

(b) border closure events must have been in effect throughout the ongoing hardship eligibility period; and

(c) the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the authority that the eligible entity—

(i) was trading in the border area on both 31 July 2021 and 14 October 2021; and

(ii) has been affected by the border closure events throughout the ongoing hardship eligibility period.

(2) However, an applicant is not eligible to receive an ongoing hardship grant for an eligible entity for which the applicant or any other person has already received an ongoing hardship grant.

9 Requirements for applications

(1) An application for assistance under the scheme must be—

(a) made on the form approved by the authority not later than the closing day for applications stated by the authority on its website; and

(b) accompanied by the documents stated in the application form; and

(c) given to the authority.

(2) If the authority asks the applicant to provide further information to support the application, the applicant must provide the information.

10 Deciding applications

(1) The authority must consider, and decide to approve or refuse to approve, each application for assistance under the scheme that complies with section 9 (1) .

(2) The authority must consider applications in the order they are received by the authority.

(3) The authority must refuse an application for assistance if the authority’s assistance funds for the scheme are not enough to pay for the assistance.