Support announced for Victorian workers under lockdown

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews came to an agreement on Thursday night to provide aid to Victorian workers located in the latest COVID hotspots who will lose income due to the new restrictions.

Individuals who have lost between eight and less than 20 hours of work will receive a payment of $375, while those who have lost more than 20 hours work get $600. There are no asset restrictions on who is eligible to receive the payment.

While eligibility is still based from the second week of a lockdown onward, the first week will also be covered “on an arrears basis” on application to Services Australia, seven days after the commencement of the lockdown.

The new agreement is in line with the Prime Minister’s remarks earlier on Thursday, proposing a “streamlined set of financial supports” for residents and businesses located in a Commonwealth-designated COVID Hotspot or those subject to lockdowns enforced by states or territories. 

On Friday morning, more than 40 per cent Australians were in lockdown.

Victoria’s latest set of restrictions applies to the Greater Melbourne, Moorabool Shire, City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliff and Surf Coast Shire regions. It’s the fifth lockdown the state has imposed since the pandemic began.

The new model for economic support will be discussed in a national cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon, and will be largely based on the grants that were introduced for NSW businesses and individuals on Tuesday, as well as the response to Victoria’s lockdown announcement yesterday.

With Victoria’s lockdown currently only scheduled to last for five days, support for businesses currently falls to the state government to administer, starting on day one. If the lockdown is extended, the Commonwealth intends to implement economic support for business owners in line with the new package that is currently being tested in NSW.