NSW announces extra economic aid for businesses & workers in Sydney, hit by extended lockdown

The Federal government has declared supplementary financial aid for businesses and workers affected by the lockdown in Sydney. Shortly after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the extension of lockdown till August 28, following the highest daily cases in the region since the recent Covid-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Scott Morrison  announced COVID-19 Business Support and disaster relief payments for affected businesses and employees.

Considering the present scenario, public health restrictions and staying home remain the sole weapons in the battle against Covid-19 to avert an all-out contagion. It is pertinent to point out the fact that, without livable and consistent income support, the purpose of the lockdown and staying home policy gets drastically undermined. Lauding the steps taken by PM Scott Morrison's Government, Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer, said that the Government’s economic aid continues to evolve in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

So far there have been close to 812,000 claims that have totalled a whopping $411Mn. Businesses that were making upto $250Mn, also qualify for Covid-19 Business Support financial aid now. The respective financial aid will be calculated as 40% of the payroll for businesses who have incurred a loss of 30% or more. Monetary support ranging between $1500 to $100,000 is set to be given to the businesses on a weekly basis and a fixed amount of $1000 per week to sole business owners.  Financial support for FTEs will be in the range of  $600 to $750 and for those who work less than 20 hours a week, the aid is from $375 to $450. The government is also looking into bringing back the Jobkeeper scheme to further augment the stay at home and recovery process. 

Speaking about the success of NSW Covid-19 financial support, Josh Frydenberg said this approach will help in delivering temporary, targeted and proportionate financial support.