Weekly Digest – 19 January 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

Should You Mix or Match Your Booster Dose?

In Australia, Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are recommended as booster shots, regardless of which vaccine you had for your first two doses. Some research has indicated that “mixing and matching” vaccines could give your immune system a bigger boost.

Eligibility Criteria for Tourism, Hospitality and Gym Grant in SA Extended

The South Australian government has announced the eligibility criteria for its Tourism, Hospitality and Gym Grant will be extended to include newer businesses that began operating after December 2020.

The payment will be:

  • $3,000 (for employing businesses) or $1,000 (for non-employing businesses);
  • Additional $1,000 for CBD businesses;
  • Additional $7,000 for tourism, hospitality and other eligible businesses with turnover above $2 million;
  • Additional top-up equivalent to automatic payment for businesses that did not receive the automatic payment.

The grant is automatically paid to businesses that have received a COVID-19 Tourism and Hospitality Support Grant or those that received an additional COVID-19 Business Support Grant. You can check for more available grants here.

Support for Small Businesses

If your business is struggling, the ATO offers a wide range of support for those affected by the pandemic, natural disasters, mental health issues, or financial difficulties.

Learn more about the available support, and the small business debt helpline for free, independent advice.

Update Your ABN Details

Make your ABN details even more detailed by adding up to 4 additional business activities on top of the main business activity currently stored. By reflecting the full range of your operations, government agencies will be able to provide you with the right support and access to stimulus measures.

You can update your ABN details using myGovID and Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) to log in.

Webinars to Help You Become More Efficient with Tax and Super

The ATO will be offering two webinars this January and February to help you streamline processes and manage your tax and super online.

These sessions will teach you the ins and outs of GST, pay as you go withholding, pay as you go instalments, how to lodge your tax returns, and more. Need expert help with your tax and super? Get in touch with us today!

Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment

People who are forced out of work to isolate due to being infected or being a close contact are eligible for the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment.

You are also eligible if you are caring for a child under 16 years old who is a close contact or infected, or someone with a disability or a severe medical condition who is a close contact of someone with COVID-19.

The payment was initially given in the form of a $750 lump sum payment for seven days. However, this changed slightly from 18 January into a tiered system. While it remains a lump sum payment, those who lose over 20 hours of work will receive the full $750, but if you lose between 8 and 20 hours, you will only receive $450.

A financial hardship test has also been introduced, which means anyone with $10,000 available and accessible to them will not get the payment.

You can find more information about Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment conditions specific to your state or territory here.

Visa Fee Refund Offered to Students and Backpackers to Fill Worker Shortage

The federal government will provide a fee rebate, which is around $600, for international students who arrive anytime in the next eight weeks and for backpackers on working holiday-maker visas who arrive within the next 12 weeks. This is an attempt to help prop up industries struggling with worker shortages.

COVID-19 Vaccination Info Kiosks

COVID-19 vaccination information kiosks are now open in shopping centres and at events in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia to help you book a vaccination appointment.

Grants for South Australian Businesses

The South Australian government has announced a $40 million support package for businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Initial automatic cash grants of up to $11,000 will be paid to eligible tourism and hospitality businesses, as well as gyms.

A second cash grant will be available on application for businesses who suffered a 30% reduction in turnover in the two weeks starting from 27 December. Other businesses who have had a 50% reduction in turnover during the same period will be eligible for grants of up to $8,000.

Meanwhile, a grant of up to $100,000 will be available for major events that had to be cancelled or delayed between 27 December and 27 January.

Business Adoption of eInvoicing

More than 1.2 billion invoices are exchanged in Australia every year, with around 90% of invoice processing still partly or fully manual. Replacing a paper or email invoice with an eInvoice will lead to up to around $20 in cost savings.

The government has taken a series of actions to support the business adoption of eInvoicing.

In the 2020-21 Budget, as part of the JobMaker Digital Business Plan, the government invested $3.6 million to facilitate eInvoicing adoption across the public sector.
In the 2021-22 Budget, as part of the Digital Economy Strategy, the Government invested a further $15.3 million to improve business awareness and accelerate eInvoicing adoption.

The government is now seeking stakeholder views on further ways to support business adoption of eInvoicing, including by consulting on the idea of a Business eInvoicing Right (BER). You can submit responses to this consultation up until 25 February 2022. You can view the submission guidelines here.

Get in touch

Contact us if you have any questions or want to discuss the next steps for your business.