Kingston chartered accountant GAIL FREEMAN goes into bat for the small businesses in Canberra suffering through this lockdown. This is a sponsored post. 

I am writing in support of small businesses that are in disarray from the recent lockdown.

The issues seem to be defective administration and lack of thought in the subsidies available. I always remember that at the end of any government decision is a person who just may not be able to afford to put food on the table.

I lodged a number of applications for clients early in the lockdown. These clients have had one, two or three form letters saying that their applications were being worked on.

Interestingly, the one that was lodged a week ago has received payment. One I lodged the week before that was sent back with a request to resubmit information, but the information was all correct and it was unclear what was required. A day later I received a hurry up, asking where the information was, yet it took two weeks to send me the form letter requesting the information!

This begs the question of what happened to all the earlier applications. Surely they are dealt with in order of receipt or does the ACT government use LIFO (“last in first out”)?

THEN there’s the client who operates an outdoor-event activity. They have four hectares of land that requires regular mowing. It takes three lawn mowers, so they asked the ACT government if they could have three people mowing simultaneously.

They were told they could have five for click and collect, which they don’t do, or two for anything else. Yet they could have five people for a picnic!

THEN there are the clients who earn less than $75,000, so are not registered for GST and can’t apply for the ACT covid-support grants. Whereas, if they operate in NSW they are eligible for government assistance. Many of these unregistered clients run viable micro businesses.

Services Australia says if you are in receipt of, say, a parenting payment, you may be eligible for the $200 COVID-19 Disaster Payment if you  have lost work. If eligible, you’ll get this amount on top of a regular income support payment. People can claim the Disaster Payment at servicesaustralia.gov.au/covid19disasterpayment. This updates and earlier version of my column.

THEN there’s the hairdresser with a large salon space employing 10 staff, who can all be on site but only five clients at a time. So twice as many staff as clients. This is going to impact heavily on the salon’s profitability or should I just say they are bound to make a loss under these conditions.

MANY small business clients prepare their BAS on a cash basis and their accounts on an accrual basis and they may not get paid for 60 days. They are obliged to prepare the application for support on a cash basis. Despite the fact that they have not been able to work for the last eight weeks, their income has not dropped by 30 per cent so they are unable to apply. Their lost income will occur after the grants close on October 7 and the next eight weeks will be very lean.

THEN there are the clients who are so distressed that they want to close their businesses down because they cannot see a way forward. This is tragic.

Small business is the backbone of this country. It is time the governments – state and federal – thought about all of these anomalies so Australian citizens are not left in poverty.

If you need help with your business, cash flow or tax matters, contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd on 6295 2844, email info@gailfreeman.com.au or visit gailfreeman.com.au

Disclaimer

This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your professional adviser.

Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd AFS Lic No. 229892.