Supporting the Australian tennis community

COVID-19 has placed significant financial pressures on small businesses within Australia, and in tennis specifically, that means clubs, coaches and tennis centres. We are working closely with Federal and State Governments to identify opportunities to support the community through this challenging time.

Financial support for you or your business may be available through a number of stimulus packages announced by the government. To help you continue to operate your business for as long as possible, we’ve summarised some key points below. A complete list of all Government Funding Initiatives is available here.

Note that as the situation constantly changes, so too does the information relevant to your business. We’ll do our best to provide necessary updates on the Tennis Australia website.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT PACKAGES AND SCHEMES FOR BUSINESSES

If you run a business (with or without employee’s), you may be eligible to receive economic support from the Federal Government to manage cash flow challenges and retain employees.

Read more information here: https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/businesses and see the below information and fact sheets on how you can be supported during this time.

 

Packages to manage cash flow challenges and help retain employees

Packages are available to help manage cashflow challenges and retain employees.

  • Eligible employers that withhold tax to the ATO on their employees’ salary and wages will receive a payment equal to 100 per cent of the amount withheld. The payment will be delivered by the ATO as an automatic credit in the activity statement system from 28 April 2020 upon employers lodging eligible upcoming activity statements.
  • Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage paid during the 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Where a small business is not able to retain an apprentice, the subsidy will be available to a new employer.
  • Fact sheet: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet-Cash_flow_assistance_for_businesses_0.pdf

 

Packages to provide temporary relief for financially distressed businesses

This package lessens the threat of actions that could unnecessarily push an otherwise profitable business into insolvency or bankruptcy and force the winding up of the business during the coronavirus.

 

Increasing asset write-off

The instant asset write-off threshold will increase from $30,000 to $150,000.

 

Credit support for Coronavirus affected SME

Improved accessibility of credit for Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) will assist in cash flow.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR SOLE TRADERS AND CASUALS

Financial support for you may be available through a number of packages announced by the government. To find out more information please visit:

https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/households.

 

Income support for individuals affected

The Government is temporarily increasing and accelerating income support by expanding eligibility to income support payments and establishing a new, time-limited Coronavirus supplement.

 

Early access to your Superannuation

This assistance allows for those significantly financially affected by the Coronavirus, to apply to have a portion of their superannuation released. Eligibility includes:

 

FINANCIAL INFORMATION PAGES

COVID-19 be Money Smart

This page: https://moneysmart.gov.au/covid-19-be-moneysmart provides advice on dealing with challenging times, making financial decisions can feel overwhelming. There’s support and services available to help you.

INSURANCE

Are coaches insured for loss of income?

Generally speaking, coaches are only covered for loss of income if it occurs because of injury while performing tennis related activities. It is unlikely that loss of income arising or flowing from the COVID-19 pandemic would be covered under the National Insurance Program.

REMINDER: For insurance purposes it is imperative that you comply with all the government guidelines/restrictions in your area,

*Please note that this is a guideline only. If you believe your circumstances are different and you may be eligible for cover or compensation, please contact Marsh on the below details.

 

Phone: 1300 130 373

Email: [email protected]

Webpage: www.marshadvantage.com.au/tennisau

 

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING SUPPORT

We understand many of you may be experience feelings of anxiety and distress in relation to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Our community partner Beyond Blue offers a range of advice and support services through their Beyond Blue Support ServiceOnline ForumsNewAccessThe Way Back Support Service and Be You programs.

The Beyond Blue Online Forums also have a dedicated ‘Coping with the Coronavirus outbreak’ section and a page dedicated to Beyond Blue Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak.

You can also call Beyond Blue’s 24/7 support service on 1300 22 4636 to speak to a mental health professional.

For immediate support call Lifeline on 13 11 14 and in an emergency, always call triple zero (000).