Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, businesses must:

• be located within Victoria
• operate in an eligible sector listed in the list of eligible ANZSIC classes for this program
• have incurred direct costs because of the restrictions and cannot fully operate remotely
• have an annual Victorian payroll of up to $10 million in 2019-20 on an ungrouped basis
• have been registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Thursday 27 May 2021
• hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at Thursday 27 May 2021
• be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator.

Employing businesses must also:

• be registered with WorkSafe Victoria
• attest that the business is supporting its workers to access any paid leave entitlements, or that if a person can work from home, to work from home during the circuit breaker action, and supporting their casual workers, where possible.

Eligible sectors

For a list of eligible sectors please see the list of eligible ANZSIC classes.

Information for other or previous grant recipients

Businesses that receive a grant under the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 are not eligible for a grant under this program.

Businesses that meet the eligibility criteria and have received assistance through the previous three rounds of the Business Support Fund, payroll tax rebate/waiver, or other COVID-19 business support programs are eligible to apply for a grant under this program.

For more information see frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Grant amount

The grant amount payable to an eligible business is determined by its industry sector (see Eligible ANZSIC classes), location and the length of time it has been impacted by restrictions.

• Eligible businesses impacted by restrictions from 11:59pm on Thursday 27 May 2021 will receive $2500.
• Eligible businesses that continued to be impacted by restrictions from 11:59pm on Thursday 3 June will receive $5000.
• Eligible businesses in metropolitan Melbourne (excluding tourism businesses) that continued to be impacted by restrictions from 11:59pm on Thursday 10 June 2021 will receive $7000, including a $2000 Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two Top-Up Payment.
• Eligible tourism businesses, such as accommodation, attractions and tourism operators, will receive $7000, including up to $4500 from the Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two Tourism Supplement.

Businesses eligible for either the Top-Up Payment or the Tourism Supplement will receive their grant in two instalments: the first instalment of $2500 or $5000 after they have been advised of their successful application and a subsequent, automatic top-up or supplementary payment in July 2021.

Information you need for your application

When applying for this grant you will need:

• a valid Australian business number (ABN) for your business in one of these eligible business sectors. The ANZSIC class linked to your ABN registration must be one of these eligible sectors
• if you employ people, your WorkCover Employer Number (WEN) or, if this is yet to be issued, a WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN)
• a valid proof of identity document (Australian driver licence, Australian Passport, Medicare Card and Australian visa information and foreign passport).

Please make sure your ABN registration information is current, along with ASIC registration, or relevant regulator information where required.

Incomplete or incorrect information may delay your application assessment. Please complete the application correctly and provide all relevant documentation.

Assessing your application

We endeavour to your application and notify you of a successful outcome within 10 business days. There may be delays in notifying you of an outcome if your application:

• does not meet all the eligibility criteria
• does not have correct evidence or documentation
• requires you to make changes
• is a duplicate application for the same business
• has incorrect information, such as ABN, WorkCover Employee Number (WEN) or bank details (for successful applicants)
• does not include current or accurate information registered with relevant regulators or partner agencies, such as the State Revenue Office, Australian Business Register or WorkSafe Victoria.

We will contact you to provide updates on your application or to seek additional information to assist with processing your application.

We consider the following circumstances when assessing your application:

• any adverse findings by a regulator regarding a business
• if your business is placed under external administration
• if there is a petition to wind up or deregister a company or business
• if your business is or becomes deregistered or unregistered (including cancellation or lapse in registration).

You can check the status of your application by logging into the Business Victoria Grants Portal.

Applicants with multiple businesses

You can only apply for one grant per ABN. If you have separate ABNs for your businesses, you must submit separate applications for each ABN. Each business or ABN must satisfy all the eligibility criteria.

Not-for-profit organisations

Not-for-profit organisations that are not registered for GST and have an annual turnover between $75,000 and $150,000 can apply for a grant. To be eligible, your organisation must meet all other eligibility criteria.

How to apply

We are no longer accepting applications for this program.

Applications closed at 11:59pm on Thursday 24 June 2021.

If you have submitted an application, check your details on the Australian Business Register website are correct, including ensuring the industry classification (ANZSIC class) linked to your ABN registration correctly captures the business’ primary business activity.

The Victorian Government or our representatives may audit your application so you will need to produce evidence at the request of the Victorian Government.

If any information in your application is false or misleading, you may be asked to repay the grant.

Please read all the information on this page, the program guidelines, and the frequently asked questions if you have questions about your application. If you cannot find the information you’re looking for, please call Business Victoria on 13 22 15.

Once you have submitted an application, you do not need to apply again for the Tourism Supplement or the Top-Up Payment.

Program guidelines

Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two guidelines (PDF 273.71 KB)

Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two guidelines (DOCX 210.9 KB)

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Read the full list of FAQs.

Business Costs Assistance Program Round Two in languages other than English

For information in languages other than English please see below:

• Hindi — हिन्दी
• Punjabi — ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
• Simplified Chinese — 简体中文
• Traditional Chinese — 繁體中文
• Vietnamese — tiếng Việt