Blog
A Guide to the Small Business COVID-19 Adaption Grant – Round 2
Rebecca McIntyre
Head of Operations
18 Jun 20

The Queensland Government released on Tuesday that they are extending the Small Business COVID-19 Adaption Grant Program. Round 2 will be released on 1st of July, 2020, with the objective to support small businesses in Queensland subject to closure or highly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown restrictions. If you missed out on round 1 you know the importance of being ready.

In this second round, the Qld Government will be dividing the available Grant funding equally between small businesses in regional areas and those in South East Queensland.

An overview of the grant can be found here.

In this article, we outline important information for you to prepare yourself to apply.

When to Apply

Applications will be open from 1st of July, 2020 via the Qld Government dedicated Business Queensland website.

Applications are only available to businesses who did not receive a Grant in round 1. If you applied in round 1 but have not heard back, you can apply again in round 2.

You can only make one application for one business that you own, if you operate more than one business, choose the most appropriate.

You must apply for your Grant personally and cannot have a supplier apply for the Grant on your behalf.  Please watch out for scams!

Regional and SEQ funding available

The program is available to eligible businesses throughout Queensland. For round 2, funding is being equally divided between regional Queensland and South East Queensland (SEQ).

South East Queensland businesses

When applying for round 2, you are a South East Queensland (SEQ) business if your principal place of business is located in 1 of the following local government areas:

  • Brisbane City Council
  • City of Gold Coast
  • Ipswich City Council
  • Lockyer Valley Regional Council
  • Logan City Council
  • Moreton Bay Regional Council
  • Noosa Shire Council
  • Redlands City Council
  • Scenic Rim Regional Council
  • Somerset Regional Council
  • Sunshine Coast Council
  • Toowoomba Regional Council.

All other areas are considered regional.

Eligibility Criteria

It is important that you check that you meet the eligibility criteria.

For your business to be eligible it must (quoted from Qld Government website):

  • have been subject to closure or otherwise highly impacted by the shutdown restrictions announced by Queensland’s Chief Health Officer on 23 March 2020;
  • demonstrate that business revenue has experienced a significant decline since 23 March 2020 over a minimum one-month period due to the onset and management of COVID 19;
  • employ staff and have fewer than 20 employees at the time of applying for the grant (these employees should be in addition to the business owners and be employed on the business’s payroll);
  • have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN) active as at 23 March 2020;
  • be registered for GST;
  • have a Queensland headquarters;
  • have an annual turnover over $75,000 for the 2018-19 or 2019-20 financial year or provide financial records that indicate that this will be met for recently started small businesses;
  • have a payroll of less than $1.3 million; and
  • not be insolvent or have owners/directors that are an undischarged bankrupt.

What you can apply for?

You can apply for a Grant sum between $2,000 to $10,000 towards payment of a quotation or invoice for an eligible purpose.

The eligible purposes are the following (quoted from Qld Government website):

  • financial, legal or other professional advice to support business sustainability and diversification;
  • continuing to meet business operation costs, including utilities, council rates, rent, telecommunication charges, insurance fees, licensing or franchise fees;
  • strategic planning, financial counselling or business coaching alighted to business development and diversification;
  • building the business through marketing and communication activities (eg. content development – web pages, mobile apps, visual and audio media etc.);
  • digital/technological strategy development;
  • digital training or re-training and up-skilling employees to adapt to new business models;
  • capital costs associated with meeting COVID-19 safety requirements; and
  • specialised digital equipment or business-specific software to move business operations online (eg. logistics program for online ordering).


You cannot apply the grant towards:

  • goods and services purchased prior to 23 March 2020 (your invoice or project start date should be after 23 March 2020);
  • activities for a total cost of less than $2000 + GST (you cannot apply the Grant to GST);
  • business costs covered by another Qld or Cth financial assistance measure;
  • salaries or wages for employees including superannuation or WorkCover;
  • services to be provided in kind (you must pay for the services);
  • purchase of business assets such as stock or fleet vehicles/machinery (but note you can apply for software);
  • fees for services or goods provided by a related party/related entity (it must be from an independent supplier);
  • for activities involving direct-selling businesses (eg. party plan and network marketing);

If you are unsure, there is no harm in applying, so long as your intended purpose is clearly stated and not misrepresented. If the project involves multiple items, we recommend you apportion the funding between purposes or projects, including by obtaining an invoice or quotation that shows the apportionment.

The project to which funding will be applied must be completed (and you must have paid at least the Grant amount) within 6 months. You will need to complete and lodge an acquittal report with copies of supplier and proof of purchase invoices.

The Qld Government will also survey successful businesses in 6 months time.

What should you include in your application?

When making your application online, you will need to supply the following materials which you should have prepared and ready to upload:

  • a statement describing how the funding will contribute to your small business during the COVID-19 crisis in terms of employment retention or outcomes, business capability and resilience, continuity (including the ability to continue to meet operating expenses), diversification, and/or digital capability of the business;
  • evidence to demonstrate that business revenue has experienced a minimum 30 per cent decline since 23 March 2020 over a minimum one-month period due to the onset and management of COVID-19 (e.g. BAS statement, ATO records, dated accountant letter on letterhead from a member of CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand or the Institute of Public Accountants);
  • invoices and/or receipts as evidence of operating expenses;
  • declaration of employee headcount;
  • evidence of annual turnover; and
  • evidence of annual payroll.
  • quotes for services related to the project;
    We recommend that your quotations and invoices:
    • be addressed to your business, not yourself personally;
    • be dated after 23 March 2020;
    • sufficiently describe the project to identify the eligible purpose;
    • be apportioned if necessary or desirable;
    • state the project duration or completion date if applicable (will need to be within 6 months);
    • be on official supplier letterhead listing the supplier’s details including ABN.

Application timeframes

The tables below summarise the important dates and timeframes in the application process.

Dates
1 July, 2020 Second funding round applications open
Applications close when funds have been estimated to be exhausted
Key Timing
An approval letter will be issued to successful applicants once applications have been assessed and approved.
On approval, the approved grant amount will be paid directly to the applicant’s business bank account.
Successful applicants have six months to complete the project after approval letter being issued.
NOTE: Grant applications will be processed in order of receipt and grant funding will be endeavoured to be paid within 2 weeks of issuing an approval letter. Successful applicants will be required to provide proof of payment for 100% of all products and services purchased as part of this grant.

For more information about the Grant, we recommend that you read the following resources available from the Business Queensland website.

  1. Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant – Round 2 Guidelines;
  2. Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant – FAQs; and
  3. Small Business COVID-19 Adaptation Grant – Application Tips.

We have a number of services available that fit in with the grant. Please note that applications for round 2 of the grant begin on 1st July 2020. If you would like to receive a quote on any of our services which are related to this grant please get in touch with us and we will have a quote and proposal ready for you within 24 hours.