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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has apologised for the slow delivery of COVID-19 business support payments, and has sought to assure businesses that they will receive them by the end of next week.
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Backlog of NSW business support to be paid by next week: Gladys Berejiklian
12 August 2021
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9 minute read
Ms Berejiklian said a backlog of the state’s COVID-19 business grants, micro-business grant, and JobSaver payments could land in bank accounts at the end of next week, more than one month after applications opened.
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“I’m advised by the end of next week, at the very latest, the backlog will be dealt with,” Ms Berejiklian said. “I appreciate how frustrating it has been for businesses.
“All of us appreciate the stresses everybody is going through, but know we have always taken … approach in New South Wales to ensure the economic support is there so people don’t feel they have to breach the public health orders.”
The COVID-19 business grants provide NSW businesses with tax-free payments of up to $15,000, while the state’s JobSaver package offers weekly cash-flow support payments of up to $100,000 to businesses to encourage them to maintain their headcount.
Each of the state’s business support packages, along with its micro-business support scheme, which offers non-employing businesses fortnightly payments of $1,500, are being administered by Service NSW.
As of Tuesday, Service NSW reported having received 104,000 applications for its COVID-19 business grant, with $278 million approved to be paid out to businesses. The state’s micro-business grant has so far attracted 22,000 applications, with $417,000 worth of payments approved.
Meanwhile, more than 67,000 businesses are also on JobSaver, with $86 million approved for payment.
Service NSW’s administration of the support payments came under fire as soon as applications opened, with accountants and business clients grappling with holes in eligibility guidelines and abrupt changes to critical dates.
The confusion has seen the state agency swamped with enquiries, with Service NSW this week admitting to fielding up to 20,000 calls a day, and a further 5,000 callback requests.
Ms Berejiklian took to thanking Service NSW, whose critics say the department was ill-equipped and underprepared to handle the applications, for working overtime to process them, before apologising for the month-long delay.
“Can I in particular thank everybody at Service NSW who’s working overtime to address those backlog issues?” Ms Berejiklian said.
“There are thousands and thousands of applications they’ve processed and will continue to process.
“I apologise to those — to people and businesses who have experienced some delay. I really do. Because I can only imagine how stressful it would be to await a payment which you’re relying on to keep your business going, but please know that relief is there.
“Please also know that every member of my government is working hard in their patch.”
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