Victorian chamber of commerce and industryVictorian chamber of commerce and industry

$3 billion business support package signals confidence in business recovery – Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The Victorian Government’s announcement of an additional $3 billion support package for business as they struggle through continued restrictions will spark hope for thousands of businesses says Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is a detailed package, offering targeted assistance to various businesses including Restaurants, Pubs Reception Centers, Ski Resorts among others. The business community in Victoria has welcomed the support package announced.

“Today’s announcement is a signal of confidence in business and will provide hope for many businesses that may have been wondering how they will get through the coming weeks of continued restrictions”, says Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Paul Guerra.

“It will be a lifeline for those businesses in desperate need that are not likely to be able to open for some time under the current Government roadmap. Significantly, there is targeted support for the hospitality sector, along with support for accommodation and tourism, outdoor event venues, passenger vehicles and hair and beauty businesses.

“This is what the business community has been calling for, a forward-looking announcement that provides confidence in being able to manage without cashflow for now, and how businesses can begin to reskill and recover when the virus is under control.

“We will work with our members to ensure all businesses know what support is available to them to get through to the other side of the health and economic crisis.

“Our collective drive must be to get to COVID-normal as soon as possible leaving no person, no worker and no business behind.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been contributing ideas for targeted business support to the government over the past few weeks based on member feedback.

The package includes support in the form of cash grants in the third round of the Business Support Fund, a dedicated Licensed Venue Fund, additional cash grants for alpine resorts and local business groups, continuation of payroll tax deferrals and waivers and a number of other waivers and deferrals of charges.

The Victorian Chamber is also pleased at the $15.7 million export recovery package and funding for small businesses to access digital programs to help them adapt to online operations under what ‘COVID-normal’ will look like.

By Singh