Small Business Adaption Grant Program: Round 2

Posted at 08:00h in Business, COVID-19, Stimulus Package by Simmons Livingstone

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Small Business Adaption Grant Program: Round 2

The Queensland Government has recently announced that it will be extending the Small Business COVID-19 Adaption Grant Program. As Queensland enters Stage 2 of the Economic Recovery Strategy, a further $100 million has been allocated to deliver the second round of grants to small businesses directly impacted by COVID-19.

Aims of the Small Business Adaption Grant Program

The Small Business Adaption Grant Program was developed to support SME’s that have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions by helping them to adapt to the current climate, sustain usual operations and prepare to bounce back once things return to normal.

The official aims of the program as stated by the Queensland Government include:

Prepare for the safe resumption of trading in the post-COVID-19 recovery
Continue to meet operating costs
Access digital technologies to rebuild business operations and transition to a new way of doing business
Respond to online opportunities, where possible, to sustain employment and maintain potential for longer-term growth
Upskill and reskill business owners and staff to benefit from new technologies or business models
Embrace business diversification to adapt and sustain operations
Create or retain employment.

What will be funded

Under the Small Business Adaption Grant Round 2, successful applicants will receive between $2,000 and $10,000 per business. This funding can then be used for the following:

Financial, legal or other professional advice to support business sustainability and diversification
Continuing to meet business operational costs including utilities, council rates, rent, telecommunication charges, insurance fees, licensing or franchise fees
Strategic planning, financial counselling or business coaching aligned to business development and diversification
Building the business through marketing and communications activities (e.g. content development – web pages, mobile apps, visual and audio media etc.)
Digital/technological strategy development
Digital training or re-training and up-skilling employees to adapt to new business models
Capital costs associated with meeting COVID-19 safety requirements
Specialised digital equipment or business-specific software to move business operations online (e.g. logistics program for online ordering).

Note: Funding must be used for one of the above activities taking place from 23rd March 2020 onwards. Any project funded by the Grant must also be completed within 6 months of the approval date.

Head to the Small Business COVID-19 Adaption Grant Program website here to learn more about what activities are not approved for funding.

Eligibility Criteria

There is a range of eligibility criteria that dictate who can access the Small Business Adaption Grant Program, including:

Have been subject to closure or otherwise highly impacted by current shutdown restrictions announced by Queensland’s Chief Health Officer on 23 March 2020
Demonstrate you have experienced a minimum 30% decline since 23 March 2020, over a minimum 1-month period due to the onset and management of COVID-19
Employ staff and have fewer than 20 employees at the time of applying for the grant (employees must be on your payroll and does not include the business owner(s))
have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN) active as at 23 March 2020
Be registered for GST
Have a Queensland headquarters
An annual turnover over $75,000 for the 2018–19 or 2019–20 financial year, or you can provide financial records that show this will be met for recently started small businesses
Have a payroll of less than $1.3 million
Not be insolvent or have owners or directors that are an undischarged bankrupt.

Please note: successful applicants from round 1 are not eligible to apply for round 2. However, unsuccessful applicants or those who have not heard back are invited to apply for round 2.

Applying for the Small Business Adaption Grant Round 2

The second round of applications opens on the 1st July and is expected to close quickly due to high demand. If you believe your business is eligible, you’ll need to compile all relevant information to back up your application prior to this date to ensure the greatest chance of approval.

If you need some assistance perfecting your application, we’d love to help. Get in touch with our team to find out more about the grant and how we can help.