Small Business Grants

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:28): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer update the house on the progress of applications for the second round of small business grants?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:28): As members would be aware, the first round of grants to small businesses and to some NGOs were extraordinarily successful and required; that is, some approximately 18,700, I think, $10,000 grants were paid primarily to small businesses, but to some NGOs as well. The testimony that many of us have seen and heard is that many small businesses indicated that it was the difference between their business surviving or not during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

I am pleased to be able to report that, as of this morning at 9 am, so I am told, we had already received 2,538 applications for $10,000 Small Business Grants, including what is a new element to the grants, which is a grant of $3,000 to some sole traders and partnerships who met certain eligibility requirements—similar eligibility requirements to those that other states have imposed on the payment of a similar grant of $3,000 to that particular group of small business operators. As I said, there are 181 of those applications for $3,000 grants in that 2,538.

The more pleasing aspect is that Treasury has got much better at throwing money around and handing money out than the first time around, when complex systems had to be instituted and staff trained, and websites in the initial stages crashed and we had an overload of telephone calls. As I said, Treasury has become much better at handing out this sort of grant now, and I am pleased to be able to report that already, as of yesterday, 183 $10,000 grants had already been processed and paid out within the first week.

RevenueSA, to their credit, having established a good working process in relation to the first grant scheme, were well prepared for a second grant scheme in terms of processing and are already processing grants to the extent that it's possible, as many of the grants that are required desperately by these small businesses that can be paid out before Christmas will be accomplished by RevenueSA. The obvious rider to that is where there is some doubt about the eligibility of an application, then that may well delay the processing of any $10,000 application, but where the processing is clear and the pathways smooth, the payment will be implemented as quickly as possible.