Who can apply for a grant?

Businesses with premises located in a Victorian Alpine Resort are eligible to apply for a grant.

Businesses must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible:

• Pay $50,000 or more in annual service charges in respect of their commercial operations
• Have:
  • A bed count of 70 or more beds; or
  • A fully enclosed commercial area of 700m2 or greater
• Hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 13 September 2020
• Be registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 13 September 2020
• Be registered with the responsible Federal or State Regulator
• At the commencement of the 2020 winter season, have operated:
  • A food and beverage venue (restaurant, café, pub, bar, club or other food venue)
  • Retail outlet (rental, clothing, footwear, equipment, supermarket, pharmacy, gifts)
  • A business that provides service directly to visitors (transport, activities, experiences, entertainment, health and wellbeing)
  • An accommodation business that also has a public on-site food and beverage venue or retail outlet.

To be considered for funding under this Stream 3, eligible businesses will also need to demonstrate that they are critical to the economy of their Alpine Resort. Applicants will be asked to provide a response (in 500 words) to the following question:

How is your business important to your Alpine Resort’s development and offering and what role does your business play in supporting of the local supply chain and regional economic activity?

This could include:

• The type of offering the business provides – for example, a budget or group style offering that attracts first time visitors or a year-round operator that supports expansion of the green season offering
• The key demographics the business brings to its Alpine Resort
• The number of direct jobs the business supports during the winter season (based on 2017, 2018 and 2019 winter season)
• Any local contractors or suppliers that rely on the business (based on 2017, 2018 and 2019 winter season).

Applicants will need to make the best possible case for funding.

The following businesses are not eligible for funding under Stream 3 of the Program:

• A business that is responsible for managing lift operations at a resort
• A business that is publicly listed.

More information about support for businesses is available on our coronavirus (COVID-19) business information page.

How much are the grants from this program?

Eligible businesses will receive a maximum grant of $25,000.

Any business that has received funding under the Victorian Government’s Business Support Fund Round 3 and/or the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund will have this funding amount deducted from the maximum $25,000 grant under this Stream 3 of the Program.

A business as defined by its ABN can only receive one grant under this Program.

In the event there is an oversubscription of recommended applicants following the assessment process, the Victorian Government reserves its right to alter the grant amount and the award of funding under this Program in its absolute discretion.

What can the grants be used for?

Grant funds may be used to assist Alpine Resort businesses for:

• Meeting ordinary business costs, including service charges, utilities or salaries
• Seeking financial, legal or other advice to support business continuity planning
• Developing the business through marketing and communications activities
• Any other supporting activities related to the ordinary operation or capital expenses of the business.

How to apply

Applicants must submit their application online, via the ‘Apply now’ button on this page.

All questions in the application must be completed.

Please ensure you attach all requested documentation to ensure timely assessment and grant payment.

Applicants will be subject to an audit by the Victorian Government or its representatives and will be required to produce evidence of their eligibility at the request of the Victorian Government for a period of four years after the grant has been approved.

If any information in the application is found to be false or misleading, any grant awarded to the applicant will have to be repaid on demand by the Victorian Government.

Please read all the information on this page, the program guidelines and the FAQs below before applying.

Program guidelines

Alpine Resorts Support Program Stream 3 Guidelines (PDF 292.17 KB)

Alpine Resorts Support Program Stream 3 Guidelines (DOCX 1516.52 KB)

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Read the list of FAQs before applying.

Documentation or evidence required with an application

Applicants must certify that they meet the eligibility criteria, including certifying whether they have received other forms of business support including the Business Support Fund Round 3, and/or the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund.

Applicants must ensure that their ABN is up-to-date and is current at the time of application.

Applicants must provide evidence of the current location of their business operations, amount of their service charges in respect of their commercial operations, bed count and/or fully enclosed commercial area, through the most recent:

• Utility bill or service charge invoice (gas, electricity, telecommunications, water); or
• Rental receipt; or
• Signed sub-lease agreement or licence agreement; or
• Business permit.

Assessing your application

We will endeavour to process and notify applicants of the outcome of their application within 20 business days of the program closing.

The following circumstances are taken into consideration when assessing applications:

• Any adverse findings by a regulator regarding a business
• A business is placed under external administration
• There is a petition to wind up or deregister a company or business
• The business is or becomes deregistered or unregistered (including cancellation or lapse in registration).

The four Alpine Resort Management Boards (RMBs) will be providing business data and insights to assist in verifying and assessing applications, including:

• Location: Confirmation of location in an Alpine Resort
• Size: Confirmation of service charges, level of commerciality as determined through the rent relief assistance (where relevant), fully enclosed commercial area and/or bed count
• Operations: Confirmation on the type of business you operate
• Importance of business: Verification of your response to the question above to confirm that your business is of importance to your Alpine Resort’s development and offering, local supply chain and regional economic activity.

A Departmental panel will provide a recommendation on the disbursement of grants. The Department’s decisions on all matters pertaining to the award of funding under this Program is at the Department’s absolute discretion.

More information

Please refer to the frequently asked questions (FAQs) for any questions you may have about this program.

For further assistance please contact us or call the Business Victoria hotline on 13 22 15.