FAQs: Small and Medium Business Recovery Grants

Yes, you can apply for an initial amount of up to $15,000. To support an initial claim, please provide quotations, invoices and official receipts which can be supported by evidence such as photographs.

Following an initial claim, you may apply for subsequent claim(s) of up to $35,000 (total of $50,000) for the Small Business Program and up to $60,000 (total of $75,000) for the Medium Business Program. To support subsequent claims, full evidence of payment is required, including for any amounts claimed under the initial claim if evidence of full payment has not already been provided.

No, we can only consider claims that are supported by documentation which clearly shows evidence of payment. This means:

a) an invoice showing full details of the goods or services provided, including the name, address and ABN (if applicable) of the supplier or contractor issuing the invoice. The goods and services described on each invoice must be clearly identifiable as having been paid by the applicant and being related to damage from the cyclone.

AND

b) evidence of payment for these invoices. This could be an official receipt from suppliers or contractors or a copy of bank transfer(s) and/or bank statement(s) showing that payment has been made.

Yes, providing you are running this as a legitimate small business, with an ABN, and you meet all other grant eligibility. Properties owned through a superannuation fund or personal investment, do not meet the criteria of a small business.

Yes, both you (as the tenant) and your landlord can make separate claims for the costs for which you have respective responsibility.

Only not-for-profits that do not receive the majority of their income from Government funding are eligible to apply. For example, social enterprises and income generating businesses run by not-for-profit bodies may apply for the programs.

If your business is home-based you can only claim the costs of clean-up and reinstatement for damage to the premises and items which are directly attributable to the business, not other household damage.

To be eligible for assistance for separate businesses under a single ABN, applicants must be able to demonstrate:

• that each business claimed for under a single ABN is a bona-fide business that can continue to operate unencumbered, even if the other business under the ABN ceases trading, and
• where businesses under a single ABN are involved in upstream/downstream operations, each can function as a separate commercial operation as distinct from a number of branches of a single operation
• the businesses were individually impacted and the claim relates to separate premises or plant and equipment.

The grants are not intended to meet costs for clean-up and reinstatement activities that can be claimed under your insurance policy. However, you may be eligible to claim for these costs if they are not covered by your insurance or for amounts that are not fully covered by your insurance.

Your business is regarded as having fewer than 20 full time equivalent (FTE) employees if the sum total of all standard working hours worked by all employees (whether full-time or part-time) is less than the number of standard hours which would be worked by 20 full-time employees.

The Small Business Program provides reimbursement grants of up to a maximum of $50,000 to eligible small businesses to assist with costs of eligible activities.

The Medium Business Program provides reimbursement grants of up to a maximum of $75,000 to eligible medium businesses to assist with costs of eligible activities.

Grant applications up to the maximum amount can be made in one claim. In this case, applicants must provide evidence that full payment has been made.

If required, multiple applications can be made up to the maximum grant amount available under the Programs. In these circumstances the following applies:

• An initial amount of up to $15,000 is available (an initial claim). To support an initial claim quotations, invoices and official receipts are required and can be supported by evidence such as photographs.
• Subsequent amount(s) of up to a total of $35,000 for the Small Business Program and $60,000 for the Medium Business Program is available (a subsequent claim). To support subsequent claims, full evidence of payment is required. This evidence must also be provided for any amounts claimed under the initial claim if evidence of full payment has not already been provided.

Where an applicant is approved for funding under $15,000 on the supply of a quote, they must agree to provide sufficient evidence of full payment within 12 months of receiving the grant.

Grants are provided to help pay for the costs of the clean-up and reinstatement of small businesses. This includes:

• Hiring or leasing equipment and materials to undertake clean-up of property, premise or equipment.
• Purchasing equipment and materials to undertake clean-up of property, premise or equipment if the delivery agency is satisfied the equipment or materials are not ordinarily available for lease or hire.
• Carting away damaged goods and material, including cost of disposal.
• Payment for tradespeople to conduct safety inspections of damage to a property, premises or equipment.
• Repairs to premises and internal fittings (e.g. floor covering, electrical rewiring, shelving) if the repair or replacement is essential for resuming operations of the business.
• Purchase or hire/lease costs for equipment essential to the immediate resumption of operations.
• Employing a person to clean a property, premise or equipment if the cost would not ordinarily have been incurred in the absence of the disaster, or the cost exceeds the cost that would ordinarily have been incurred in the absence of the disaster (only the excess costs are eligible).
• Leasing of temporary premises for the purpose of resuming operation of the business.
• Replacement of lost or damaged stock, which is essential to the immediate resumption of operations.
• Costs associated with insurance excess and insurance claim shortfall that are directly related to the eligible disaster.

No, you are unable to claim loss of income under this grant.

Yes, providing that they were essential for the immediate resumption of your business and not covered by your insurance policy.

• Photographs – must clearly show damage to the property and have a brief explanation of what they are showing contained in the title or name – metadata recording the date and location.
• Invoices – must include the name, address, date and ABN (if applicable) of the entity that has issued the invoice. The goods and services described on each invoice must be clearly identifiable and be paid by the applicant.
• Receipts – must include the name, address, date and ABN (if applicable) of the entity that issued the receipt and have a description of each item to which the receipt relates.
• Rates notice or least agreement.
• Quotes – must include the name, address, date and ABN (if applicable) of the entity that has quoted, including a description of each item included in the quote.
• Bank statement or bank transfer – bank statement(s) or transfer(s) must be provided to demonstrate payment along with official receipt(s) from suppliers or contractors.

You may already have these documents on your computer or smart device. If not, take a photo with your smartphone or scan them. If you don’t have a scanner, ask for help at your local library or community resource centre, or download one of the many free scanner apps available to your smartphone. (Adobe Scan and Genius Scan are both free and easy to use.) We will accept documents in PDF, JPG or PNG formats, but not as hard (printed) copies. At the appropriate stage in the application process, you will be prompted to upload the document from your device. It is recommended you do this from a desktop device and not a mobile phone if possible.

To assist in validating the eligibility of the application and protect the program from fraud, it is important we receive an unedited/unredacted PDF copy of your most recent business bank statement of the account into which the grant will be paid.

The Federal Government has defined these grants as non-assessable, non-exempt (NANE) income. This is income that is not assessed as part of your tax return and you do not pay tax on.

Read further information on non-assessable non-exempt income from the Australian Tax Office.

We recommend you seek your own independent advice about the tax implications of receiving this grant.

Applicants registered for GST must make a claim for reimbursement of costs exclusive of GST. Applicants not registered for GST may a claim for reimbursements of costs inclusive of GST.

Applications close at 5.00pm (AWST) on 30 June 2024

Note: Recovery activities after 30 June 2024 are not eligible for reimbursement.

All applicants will be notified in writing via email of the outcome of an application as soon as practical.

You should receive payment within five (5) business days after receipt of advice of a successful application.

If you have any queries about the application process please email grants@smallbusiness.wa.gov.au.

The grant is awarded based on the information you provide in your application. The WA Government will conduct audits of this information and reserves the right to recover any payments that did not meet the eligibility guidelines. If, when making an application for this grant you knowingly provide false or misleading information, create a document, impersonate a person or business with the intent to deceive the grant provider in order to obtain a benefit, this may constitute a fraud offence under the Criminal Code Act 1913 and be subject to criminal penalties.