Funding updates

Updated Thursday 09 July 2020

Whats New?:

• NEW: Aus Gov – Department of Health – Aged Care Workforce Retention Grant (Aged Care)
• UPDATED: Budget Direct – Sponsorships Solved – Re opened (Other COVID-19 Grant Support)

Funding Categories:

• Housing and Homelessness
• For Employers
• Aged Care
• Child Care
• Pro Bono Support
• Other COVID-19 Grant Support

Housing and Homelessness

Minister for Housing and Public Works, Minister for Digital Technology and Minister for Sport, the Hon Mick de Brenni MP announced a $24.7 million 8-point Housing and Homelessness COVID-19 Immediate Response Fund. You can read more about the response plan here.

Funded service providers should direct any questions in relation to the allocation and expenditure of these funds to their usual Contract Manager in the department.

For Employers

JobKeeper Payment (National)

Date: Subsidies available for a period of 6 months from 30 March to 30 September 2020

Amount: $1,500 per fortnight, per employee

Funder: Aus Gov – Australian Tax Office

Key Points:

• To be eligible and register, employers need to make a declaration that their revenue / turnover has dropped by at least 30% as a result of the current restrictions / COVID-19 impact (businesses with $1 billion turnover need to declare a 50% reduction in turnover)
• Charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), will also be eligible if their turnover has fallen, or will likely fall, by 15% or more
• The subsidy is a flat payment of $1,500 per fortnight, per employee. Aimed to cover part time, full time, casual workers and sole traders with a requirement for casual employees needing to have been in their role for 12 months (requirements in relation to full time, part time and sole traders to be confirmed).
• Subsidies available for a period of 6 months from 30 March 2020
• Applies to employees ‘on the books’ as at 1 March 2020 so there is an opportunity for staff that had been terminated or stood down in the past weeks to be reinstated and become eligible. NOTE: To be eligible however, employees cannot be getting other benefits, i.e Job seeker payments, etc.
• The actual payments to employers will not be issued until 1 May 2020. Therefore, employers will need to make wage payments up to that date from their own cashflow and will then be reimbursed by this subsidy

More Information: Aus Gov – Australian Tax Office JobKeeper Payment Website

Boosting Cash Flow For Employers (National)

Date: From 28th April 2020 up to the month (or quarter) of September 2020

Amount: $20,000 – $100,000

Funder: Aus Gov – Australian Tax Office

Key Points: The Australian Government will provide tax-free cash flow boosts of between $20,000 and $100,000 to eligible businesses, delivered through credits in the activity statement system, when eligible businesses lodge their activity statements (i.e., automatically delivered after completing and lodging your BAS).

More Information: Aus Gov – Australian Tax Office – Boosting cash flow for employers Website

Cash Flow Assistance – Supporting Apprentices and Trainees (National)

Date: Subsidies will apply to wages paid from 01 January to 30 September 2020

Amount: Up to $7,00 per quarter, up to a max of $21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee

Funder: Aus Gov – Department of Education, Skills and Employment

Key Points: A 50% subsidy on apprentice/trainee wages paid between Jan – March this year (up to $21,000pp), for small businesses with <20 employees. Employers of any size who re-engage an apprentice or trainee that has been displaced from a small business may also attract a wage subsidy. The apprentice or trainee must have been in-training with a small business as at 1 March 2020.

Subsidies will cover wages paid from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Businesses will be reimbursed up to $7,000 per quarter, up to a maximum of $21,000, per eligible apprentice or trainee. Final claims for payment must be lodged by 31 December 2020.

More Information: Aus Gov – Department of Education, Skills and Employment – Supporting Apprentices and Trainees Website

Coronavirus Payroll Tax Relief (QLD)

Date: Throughout 2020 calendar year

Amount: N/A

Funder: QLD Gov

Key Points: You may be eligible for one or more of a range of payroll tax relief measures as a result of the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19).These include:

• refunds of payroll tax for 2 months
• a payroll tax holiday for 3 months
• deferral of paying payroll tax for the 2020 calendar year.

As part of this relief package, the refund and payroll tax holiday do not have to be repaid.

More Information: QLD Gov – Coronavirus Payroll Tax Relief Website

Aus Gov – Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme – Supporting the Flow of Credit (National) 

Date: Closing 30 September 2020

Amount: up to $250,000

Funder: Aus Gov – The Treasury

Key Points: The Coronavirus Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Guarantee Scheme will support up to $40 billion of lending to SMEs (including sole traders and not-for-profits). Under the Scheme, the Government will guarantee 50 per cent of new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs.

The Scheme will enhance lenders’ willingness and ability to provide credit, supporting many otherwise viable SMEs to access vital additional funding to get through the impact of Coronavirus.

The Scheme will be available for new loans made by participating lenders until 30 September 2020.

More Information: Aus Gov – Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme – Supporting the Flow of Credit Website

QLD GOV – Department of Education, Small Business and Training – Small Business Adaption Grants (QLD)

Date: Ongoing (until funds are exhausted)

Amount: Up to $10,000 (total pool – $100m)

Funder: QLD Gov – Department of Education, Small Business and Training

Key Points: The Small business Adaption Grants are designed to assist small businesses that have been subject to closure or otherwise highly impacted by current shutdown restrictions.

The available grant amount is up to a maximum of $10,000 per eligible small or micro business. The funding can be used towards the following:

• financial, legal or other professional advice to support business sustainability and diversification
• strategic planning, financial counselling or business coaching aligned to business development and diversification
• building the business through marketing and communications activities, for example, content development (web pages, mobile apps, visual and audio media etc.)
• digital/technological strategy development
• digital training or re-training to adapt to new business models
• capital costs associated with meeting COVID-19 safe requirements
• specialised digital equipment or business specific software to move business operations online (e.g. logistics program for online ordering)
• meeting business costs, including utilities, rent

Projects must be completed within 6 months from the date of approval.

More Information: Business Queensland – Small Business COVID-19 Adaption Grant Website

Aged Care

Aus Gov – Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) – Emergency Support for COVID-19 (National)

Date: 03 April – 30 June 2021

Amount: Needs-based (total pool $120,200,000)

Funder: Aus Gov – Department of Health

Key Points: The objective of this grant is to provide assistance through limited financial support to existing CHSP service providers to enable them to respond to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances that directly impact on existing service delivery arrangements that are beyond the control of the grant recipient.

This grant opportunity will provide grant funding for two groups of CHSP Providers, Group A CHSP Providers delivering any activity type(s) and Group B CHSP meals providers.

More Information: Aus Gov – Grant Connect Website (GO3877)

Aus Gov – COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program (National)

Date: Closing 31 May 2021

Amount: up to $20,000 base-funding allocation and $2,000 for each operational place

Funder: Aus Gov – Department of Health

Key Points: The COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program will reimburse eligible aged care providers for eligible expenditure incurred on managing direct impacts of COVID-19. The Program will run over 2 years from 2019-20 to 2020-21. The Program will assist Residential Aged Care, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program and Home Care Package providers that are subject to direct COVID-19 impacts, to deliver continuity of safe quality care for consumers.

Applications submitted online

More Information: Aus Gov – Grant Connect Website (GO3844)

Aus Gov – Business Improvement Fund for Residential Aged Care (National)

Date: Closing 30 April 2021 (or when funding is exhausted)

Amount: Grants of between $7,500 – $15,000 available (max $1.5m for any single residential provider)

Funder: Aus Gov – Department of Health

Key Points: The Business Improvement Fund for Residential Aged Care will provide targeted support to eligible providers of residential aged care experiencing financial difficulty, prioritising providers in regional, rural, and remote areas, and small to medium sized providers, with limited access to financial support, that are facing significant financial pressure.

The Fund will provide financial support to providers through three streams of grant funding which include:

• Supporting a provider to go through a process of business improvement
• Supporting the sale of the residential aged care facility to another provider
• Where no options exist, supporting the orderly and safe close-down of a residential facility

More Information: Aus Gov – Grant Connect Website (GO3410)

Aus Gov – Department of Health – Aged Care Workforce Retention Grant (National)(Closing Soon)

Date: Closing 20 July 2020

Amount: Varies depending on eligibility – total pool: $237,000,000

Funder: Australian Government – Department of Health

Key Points: The Australian Government announced funding to promote the retention of the Aged Care workforce during COVID-19 to aged care residential and home care workers through a payment of up to $800 per quarter – paid for two quarters – for residential direct care workers and two payments of up to $600 per quarter – for two quarters – for those who provide care under the Home Care Program.

Payments will be provided to providers/agencies to pay their full-time, part-time and casual workers. Part-time and casual workers will be paid a pro-rata rate.

More Information: Website | Guidelines | Application Link

Child Care

Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) – Special Circumstances Grant (National)

Date: Ongoing

Amount: Determined on ‘case-by-case basis’. Up to $9m total pool each financial year

Funder: Aus Gov – Department of Education, Skills and Employment

Key Points: The CCCF Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity is designed to support continuity of child care, in particular in disadvantaged or vulnerable communities, where a service is:

• at risk of closure due to an unforeseen event or circumstance, such as a natural disaster, or extreme weather event,
• at risk of permanent closure due to another event or circumstance, where that closure would result in a lack of suitable child care for the community, or
• seeking to commence a new service in a community where another service has closed, resulting in a lack of suitable child care.

More Information: Aus Gov – CCCF Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity Website

Pro Bono Support

Social Impact Hub, Westpac Foundation and Social Traders – pro bono business support for social enterprises

Date: Ongoing

Amount: (N/A: Pro-bono business support available)

Funder: Social Impact Hub, Westpac Foundation, Social Traders

Key Points: Social Impact Hub, Westpac Foundation and Social Traders are collaborating with leading corporates to offer pro bono business support to social enterprises to help them through the COVID-19 crisis.

To be eligible to access this program your enterprise must:

• be operating in Australia;
• be sourcing or working towards sourcing the majority of its revenue through trade of socially or environmentally sustainable products or services rather than through grants, donations; and
• have a mission to directly address social, cultural or environmental needs through the trade of goods and services rather than indirectly through socially responsible practices.

Priority will be given to enterprises with revenues >$1m or with more than 5 employees, but all social enterprises that meet the definition above are encouraged to apply.

More Information: Social Impact Hub – COVID pro bono support for social enterprises Website

Social Ventures Australia – Capacity Building Services

Date: Ongoing

Amount: (N/A Pro-bono business support available)

Funder: Social Ventures Australia (SVA)

Key Points: SVA help build capabilities and financial sustainability for business to business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) social enterprises. They provide a unique balance of clear-eyed business rigour and flexible social capital to upscale growth and amplify impact, leveraging access to complimentary professional business intermediaries for complex legal, tax and governance advice.

More Information: SVA – Capacity Building Services Website

Other COVID-19 Grants Support

Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) and Philanthropy Australia – COVID-19 National Funding Platform (National)

Date: Ongoing

Amount: Unspecified

Funder: Various Philanthropic funders

Key Points: Australian Communities Foundation and Philanthropy Australia have partnered to provide a national funding platform to coordinate the philanthropic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Non-profit organisations are encouraged to register their funding needs as they relate to COVID-19, so that Australian philanthropic funders can connect with and support the important work underway to tackle the pandemic and protect our communities

More Information: ACF – COVID-19 National Funding Platform Website

COVID-19 Rapid Advocacy Fund (National)

Date: Ongoing

Amount: Grants of $1,000 – $10,000 are currently being considered

Funder: Australian Progress, ACOSS and Australian Communities Foundation

Key Points: Australian Progress, together with Australian Communities Foundation and other partners, are launching COVID-19 Rapid Advocacy Fund, a donor pool that can rapidly inject funds into strategic advocacy campaigns responding to the pandemic in Australia.

More Information: Rapid Advocacy Fund Website

BHP – COVID-19 Vital Resources Fund (National)

Date: Ongoing

Amount: Undisclosed (total pool $50,000,000)

Funder: BHP

Key Points: BHP will establish a $50 million (AUD) Vital Resources Fund to help support regional Australian communities in its areas of operation, which are facing the significant challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spending will be focused on the regions surrounding BHP’s Australian operations, including the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, the Hunter Valley in NSW, Roxby Downs and the Upper Spencer Gulf in South Australia, and the Pilbara and Goldfields regions in Western Australia.

Anticipated areas of support include:

• Local and regional health networks for critical infrastructure, services and workforces.
• Essential community services that keep regions strong.
• Community mental health and resilience.
• Social partners and community leaders to support rural and remote Indigenous communities.
• Over the longer term, working with governments at all levels to increase resources and training available to jobseekers

More Information: BHP – Vital Resources Fund Website

Budget Direct – Sponsorships Solved (National)

Date: Closing 30 September 2020

Amount: Up to $10,000

Funder: Budget Direct

Key Points: Budget Direct’s Sponsorships Solved program aims to help groups throughout Australia in their efforts to build happy and healthy neighbourhoods. Organisations who have been affected by COVID-19 or the recent bushfires are strongly encouraged to apply.

Sponsorships are aimed at supporting registered organisations or associations that:

• provide local or statewide community services
• run community awareness and education programs
• promote health and wellbeing (e.g. sports clubs)
• advocate for road safety
• provide emergency services
• support in need or at-risk Australians
• help build strong, vibrant communities

More Information: Budget Direct – Sponsorships Solved Website

Aus Gov – Department of Social Services & Good Things Foundation – Activation Grants (National)

Date: Ongoing

Amount: Up to $2,000

Funder: Aus Gov – Department of Social Services & Good Things Foundation

Key Points: Activation grants are one-off grants awarded to new organisations joining the Be Connected Network. Funding can be spent on anything that will help you support older Australians to gain digital skills, including new devices, broadband fees, or expenses for digital mentors or volunteers.

Activation grants are assessed and funding awarded on a monthly basis.

More Information: Be Connected Network – Activation Grants Website

RACQ Foundation – COVID-19 Recovery Grants (QLD Only)

Date: Closing 17th July 2020

Amount: Up to $20,000

Funder: RACQ Foundation

Key Points: Initially set up to support community groups impacted by natural disasters, the RACQ Foundation is now extending funding to support those impacted by COVID-19. As a general guide, the Foundation will consider funding for programs:

• that will directly benefit people located only within Queensland
• with a preference for small and medium sized organisations (annual turnover of less than $5m)
• delivered by Queensland community organisations either with or without DGR status
• for amounts up to $20,000.

More Information: RACQ Foundation Website

Connellan Airways Trust – General Grants for Individuals & Organisations (National)

Date: Current round closing 15 August 2020 (next round closing 15 November 2020)

Amount: Undisclosed

Funder: Connellan Airways Trust

Key Points: The Connellan Airways Trust (CAT) is a national not-for-profit organisation assists residents of Outback Australia with financial support for any worthwhile project, particularly involving education, health, communication and transport needs.

General Grants supporting people, particularly individuals, families and young people, through COVID-19 are being considered priority. Applications will need to demonstrate the negative impact as a result of the COVID-19. Applications considered urgent will be reviewed prior to the set meeting dates. We encourage prospective applicants to contact the Executive Officer on 1800 733 810 to discuss their application.

More Information: Connellan Airways Trust – Website