Grants now available to businesses

SHORT-TERM HELP

INCREASED grants and loans would be made available to bushfire affected businesses to help them recover from the economic damage of this summer’s fires, Premier Will Hodgman said yesterday.

Small businesses in the Huon Valley, Central Highlands, West Coast and Derwent Valley can now apply for Bushfire Small Business Disruption Grants of up to $2000, where they have experienced a significant disruption to their business, the Premier said.

Bushfire Business Recovery Grants of up to $25,000 each also will soon be available for small to medium sized enterprises to help cover demonstrated irrecoverable losses.

And the Government will establish a Concessional Business Recovery Loan Scheme to assist businesses by up to $100,000 each to re-establish after being directly impacted by the bushfires.

The funds are intended to contribute to business recovery, ongoing viability, and to supporting the local economy. They extend to loss of crops and forests, damage to assets and lost stock or inventory, Mr Hodgman said.

“We want to ensure that anyone who is impacted by the fires, any business, is able to receive some support from the state,” he said.

“It certainly will be needed for affected businesses to demonstrate a loss, but we are very confident that most will be able to do so, particularly in areas where they were literally cut off with road closures, where people were evacuated and we know that there has been fire damage to a number of businesses as well.

“We want to ensure that the process is seamless and as effective as possible so we can get this support to businesses as soon as possible.”

Huon Valley mayor Bec Enders said many local businesses had been greatly affected by the fires, impacting at the height of the tourism season.

“It’s not just tourism businesses that suffer, it’s your fuel stations or the store that we’re in today, the IGA store, the local store,” she said. “It will help businesses get back up on their feet somewhat, and also carry them through the next few months.”

Guidelines and application information on the Bushfire Small Business Disruption Grant are available at www.business.tas.gov.au.

Businesses requiring further advice or assistance on the program can also contact Business Tasmania on 1800 440 026.

Further information and guidelines on the Bushfire Business Recovery Grant and the Concessional Business Recovery Loan Scheme will be released next week.