Support for your business 

Businesses planning their COVID restriction and lockdown recovery have been offered some of the certainty and support they have been desperate for all year.  

CCIQ has been calling for support measures similar to those offered in the first lockdown in 2020 to be reinstated to support the state’s business economy alongside business and consumer confidence to recover from the impacts of four snap lockdowns this year.  

2021 COVID-19 Business Support Grants for lockdown-impacted businesses

Your business may be eligible for financial support through the 2021 COVID-19 Business Support Grants. Grants will be available to eligible small and medium businesses and not for profit organisations, and large tourism and hospitality businesses and not for profit organisations across Queensland affected by the August 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns.

Under the joint Queensland and Australian Government support package, tiered payments based on payroll size for eligible businesses and not-for-profit organisations across Queensland are available.

These include:

• $10,000 grant to employing small businesses and not-for-profit organisations with an annual payroll in Queensland of less than $1.3 million
• $15,000 grant to employing medium sized businesses and not-for-profit organisations with an annual payroll in Queensland between $1.3 million and $10 million
• $30,000 grant to employing large sized tourism and hospitality focused businesses and not-for-profit organisations with an annual payroll in Queensland of greater than $10 million.

Applications opened 12pm Monday 16 August, and will remain open for a following three months. Head to the Queensland government website to learn more.

Have a question? Read the FAQs. 

Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Program

Up to $40 million has been committed to the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Program which will provide grants of up to $50,000 for employing businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors which have experienced a turnover reduction of at least 70%. For details see Department of Tousism, Innovation and Sport. 

Second Round of the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Program

A second round of grants of $15,000, $25,000 and $50,000 will be available for small, medium and large employing businesses across the state that have experienced a reduction in turnover of at least 70 per cent for at least seven consecutive days between 1 July and 30 September.  For details see Department of Tousism, Innovation and Sport. 

Iconic Tourism Grants

Grants of up to $4 million will be available to ensure that major tourism enterprises remain viable and are ready to scale up as visitation returns.

Eligibility criteria for the iconic tourism grants will include:

• Being key drivers of significant interstate and/or international tourism, as well as major employers
• Nationally significant tourism operators and attractions, such as major theme parks and major reef tourism operators
• Demonstrating a 50% reduction in turnover and visitation over the 3 month period from 1 July to 30 September 2021, compared to pre-COVID
• Businesses to maintain their staff levels through the assistance period, to the end of 2021

For details see Department of Tousism, Innovation and Sport. 

Border Business Zone Support Package

The Border Business Zone Support Package includes:

• Up to $6.3 million to extend eligibility for the 2021 COVID-19 Business Support Grants to border zone businesses to include the border closure
• Up to $6.5 million to provide a special one-off payment under the new COVID-19 Border Business Zone Hardship Grant of $5,000 to an eligible employing business and $1,000 to an eligible non-employing business from 14 October 2021
• Provide up to $1 million to Destination Gold Coast to boost the Gold Coasters Play Money campaign with a focus on the border zone.
• An additional $50,000 contribution to the Essentially Cooly marketing campaign
• Provide $700,000 for additional mental health support for business owners and their families in the border zone.

The Border Business Zone includes Coolangatta, Currumbin-Tugun, Currumbin Waters and the border towns of Goondiwindi, Wallangara and Mungindi.

The package comes after the Greater Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce (GSGC) and CCIQ warned the State Government ignoring the impacts of the border closure on business and consumer confidence would have significant long-term impacts on both the local and state economy.

For details see the Business Queensland website.

Business Basics Grants Program 

Regional businesses can also apply for payments of up to $5000 in round two of the Business Basics Grants Program to increase core skills and adopt best practice.

This support includes funded activities in five priorities:

1. Training and coaching
2. Website build or upgrades
3. Professional business advice
4. Strategic marketing services
5. Business continuity and succession

For details and eligibility see the Business Queensland website. 

Support for non-employing sole traders

Under the joint Queensland and Australian Government package, a $1,000 one-off grant to non-employing sole traders across Queensland has been announced.

If you are a Queensland-based non-employing sole trader who has had a decline in turnover of more than 30% due to the South East Queensland lockdown commencing 31 July 2021 or the Cairns and Yarrabah lockdown commencing 8 August 2021, you may be eligible for a one-off $1,000 grant.

For details and eligibility see the Business Queensland website.

Further information and support

• ​Following our previous webinar, ​we invited Hon. Di Farmer and Warwick Agnew back to answer some of your questions and provide an update on the support available for business. Click here to watch the webinar on demand.
• Click here to download FAQs on the 2021 COVID-19 Business Support Grants.

• Phone the Small Business Hotline at 1300 654 687 (available 24/7)