Getting Back to Business – AUGUST 2020 Update

Do you know a talented young person who could use a $10,000 package to build their very own business?

The GI Challenge, suited to budding young entrepreneurs, is a FREE program that connects people between the ages of 15 and 25 with the marketplace and unleashes their innovative genius to launch their dream business.

READ MORE HERE

The Australian Tax Office is reminding businesses that the super guarantee amnesty is a one-off opportunity to correct past unpaid super guarantee amounts and avoid significant penalties. The six-month amnesty for employers will end on Monday 7 September 2020.

READ MORE HERE

Business Queensland have a quick 2-minute survey available to inform the government of what businesses need through COVID-19 and beyond.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

As announced, the Australian Government is extending the JobKeeper Payment by a further six months to March 2021.

The existing JobKeeper Payment will remain in place until 27 September 2020. Fortnightly payments will be extended by six months to 28 March 2021 and tapered over three stages.

From 28 September 2020, the JobKeeper Payment will be extended for businesses and not-for-profits significantly impacted, with payment rates stepped-down and two tiers of payment introduced.

The turnover eligibility test for JobKeeper’s extension period (28 September 2020 to 28 March 2021) will also be amended and the reference date for employee eligibility changed to 1 July 2020 to support workers who started after 1 March 2020 and casuals who worked for the same employer on a regular basis for at least 12 months.

Click here to access the latest information from Treasury.

As mentioned during our July Members Breakfast Zoom, Tourism Noosa were in the process of launching a new campaign showcasing Noosa’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Commencing in early August, and now with Queensland Border closures once again in place, the campaign has refocused on intrastate audiences particularly the ‘drive market’ promoting the array of experiences for visitors to the region.

READ MORE HERE

Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) has a range of information on marketing help and COVID-19 support, including new Queensland health approved information and advice on how to manage interstate travellers and those who may be unwell.

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Business Queensland offer an online resource for small businesses wanting to learn more about how to find business grants on offer in Queensland and apply for grant funding.

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Applications opened on August 13, 2020 for the next round of the Skilling Queensland for Work initiative. Community-based not-for-profit organisations can apply for funding to start projects in local communities across Queensland. Local councils and school Parents and Citizens' and Parents and Friends' associations are also able to apply for funding under some programs.

READ MORE HERE

The Queensland Government is amending criminal legislation to target employers who commit serious and deliberate wage theft, including underpayment of wages, having entitlements such as leave and penalty rates withheld, and an employer not making required superannuation contributions on an employee’s behalf.

These reforms address the findings of the 2018 parliamentary inquiry into wage theft in Queensland, which found the practice is endemic across the state.

The Minister for Education and Minister for Industrial Relations The Honorable Grace Grace stated that “almost 25% of Queensland workers pay packets each year in unpaid or underpaid wages and around $1.1 billion in underpayment of superannuation… [and] employers who commit wage theft face up to 10 years jail for stealing and 14 years for fraud under amendments to the criminal code.”

READ THE STATEMENT HERE

Further information from the Office of Industrial Relations for workers about wage theft is available here.