On 10 August 2021, the Queensland Government announced a $47.75 million Tourism and Hospitality Sector Covid-19 Lockdown Support Package (“Package”) for businesses impacted by lockdowns in Queensland and other States.
In Summary, the Package includes:
• A six month deferral of payroll tax payments for eligible tourism and hospitality businesses across Queensland impacted by the current lockdowns.
(i) Payroll tax liabilities to be paid in August can be deferred for six months.
(ii) Eligible businesses who have made their August payments can defer their next monthly payroll tax liability for six months.
• Waiving, refunding or deferring a range of fees and charges for eligible tourism and hospitality businesses. This includes fee waivers for tourism businesses operating in a:
(i) National park
(ii) Conservation Park
(iii) Recreation Reserve or State Forest (including whale watching operations)
• Liquor licensing fee waivers and refunds for the 2021-22 financial year at a cost of $22 million.
Extension of $5,000 Business Support Grant
This grant is being extended to include large Tourism and Hospitality businesses outside South East Queensland (primarily as a result of the lockdown in Cairns and Yarrabah).
Queensland Covid-19 Cleaning Rebate – $20 million
This rebate is to assist small and medium businesses and not-for-profits affected by possible exposure to a Covid-19 case. The Rebate will cover up to 80% of cleaning costs (capped at $10,000 excl GST) per incident where a business is a confirmed exposure site.
Eligible businesses (including sole traders) need to have a Queensland-based business premises i.e. principal place of business in Queensland and an annual payroll of not more than $10 million.
The Rebate can be accessed after:
• Being listed as an exposure site on the Queensland Health contact tracing (exposure sites – coronavirus) website; and
• Undertaking a professional clean (also known as a “deep clean”) of the affected worksite in accordance with the Queensland Covid-19 cleaning, disinfection and waste management guidelines.
The Rebate applies to eligible businesses that undertake a professional clean in the 2021-22 financial year, including those in South East Queensland and Townsville from 29 June 2021.
Tourism and Hospitality Support Package
The package for these sectors also includes:
• 12 month deferral of State lease fees for eligible tourism operators between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022.
• 12 month fee waivers or refunds of inbound tour operator fees (for fee renewals up to 30 June 2022).
• A second round of the Covid-19 Marine Tourism Rebate in the 2021-22 financial year.
More information and access to the assistance is available at www.business.qld.gov.au