Support available for SMEs affected by east coast floods

Last Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology and NSW State Emergency Service warned of a developing rain and potential flood situation affecting parts of NSW.

They issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall, possibly life-threatening, and damaging winds, for the Mid North Coast as well as parts of the Northern Rivers and Hunter forecast districts.

The NSW State Emergency Service also asked all people in areas impacted by floods and storms to monitor the situation closely and act on all advice given by emergency services immediately.

In response, governments and banks have either announced or activated disaster relief programs for businesses potentially affected by the heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding.

Federal government disaster relief

On Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the federal government has activated the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) for 34 NSW local government areas affected by storms and flooding. The full list of local government areas can be found here.

Under the AGDRP, a one-off, non-means tested payment of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per child is available to individuals who have been adversely affected by a major disaster either in Australia or overseas.

The DRA is a short-term payment to assist individuals if a declared disaster directly affects their income.

Individuals can access the DRA for a maximum of 13 weeks, with Services Australia paying the DRA from the date an individual loses income as a direct result of the NSW floods.

Services Australia also noted that DRA is a taxable payment and is able to withhold voluntary tax deductions from the payments. Further, individuals receiving the DRA might be able to get the Beneficiary Tax Offset, which may reduce the amount of tax paid.

Individuals have until 20 September 2021 to make a claim for the AGDRP and DRA.

NSW government disaster relief

The NSW government announced that it has activated its Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement (DRFA) program for 34 local government areas.

The DRFA is jointly funded between the federal and state and territory governments through which the federal government provides financial assistance to support state governments with disaster recovery costs.

Eligible costs include assistance measures for individuals and families, businesses, primary producers, non-profit organisations and local and state governments.

Loans of up to $130,000 at a fixed concessional interest rate may also be available to small businesses and primary producers that have been directly impacted by a disaster.

These loans may be used to meet carry-on requirements or to repair or replace damaged property not covered by insurance.

The loan program is currently administered by the NSW Rural Assistance Authority.

Support from the banks

The Australian Banking Association announced that the major banks have a range of measures in place, and can include:

• a deferral of scheduled loan repayments ;
• waiving fees and charges, including break costs on early access to term deposits;
• debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable ;
• restructuring existing loans free of the usual establishment fees ;
• deferring interest payments on a case-by-case basis ;
• offering additional finance to help cover cash flow shortages ;
• deferring upcoming credit card payments ; and
• increasing emergency credit card limits.

Australian Taxation Office support

The ATO also said that it will support businesses facing problems meeting their tax obligations due to flooding.

Depending on your circumstances, the ATO said it may:

• give extra time to pay debt or lodge tax forms such as activity statements;
• help find a lost tax file number (TFN) after verifying an identity;
• re-issue income tax returns, activity statements and notices of assessment;
• help reconstruct lost or damaged tax records;
• prioritise any refunds owed;
• set up a payment plan tailored to the circumstances of a business, including an interest-free period; and
• remit penalties or interest charged during the time a businesses have been affected.

However, the ATO said employers still need to meet super guarantee obligations for their employees, saying that, by law, it can’t vary the contribution due date or waive the super guarantee charge on late super guarantee payments.

Contact details for government departments and banks

ANZ – 1800 149 549 – website

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) – 1800 806 218 – website

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) – 1800 314 695 – website

National Australia Bank (NAB) - 1300 961 577 – website

NSW Rural Assistance Authority – 1800 678 593 – website

Services Australia – 180 22 66 – website  

Westpac – 1800 067 497 – website

Local government areas eligible for government disaster support (as of 22 March 2021)

Armidale, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cumberland, Dungog Shire, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, The Hills, Hornsby, Inner West, Kempsey, Ku-ring-gai, Lake Macquarie, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid-Coast, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Port Stephens, Sutherland, Tenterfield, Wollondilly.