Small Business Disaster Recovery Grants
Small Business Disaster Recovery Grants provide assistance to small businesses severely impacted by the North and Far North Queensland monsoonal trough to engage high-level expertise to help them recover and rebuild business confidence. Funding for building, plant and equipment repairs is available in specific circumstances.
Available funding
Funding of up to $10,000 (excluding GST) may be provided to eligible businesses to engage business consultants, mentors, coaches or an advisory service to assist with business recovery following the monsoonal trough.
The grant's purpose is to provide severely impacted small businesses with access to high-level expertise and advice to rebuild business confidence and increase resilience for the future.
A single grant payment will be made directly to the business and is to be used for:
- business plan development
- retraining
- business mentoring
- financial counselling
- exploring options for business sustainability.
Funding may also be available for building, plant and equipment repairs for small businesses as a flood-proofing measure – specific eligibility applies.
Eligibility criteria
The following grants are available to established small businesses severely impacted by the monsoonal trough.
The grants have been jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Table 1: Eligibility
| DRFA category | Eligible council areas (LGA) | Resilience $10,000 | Repairs $10,000 | Assessment required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Received Category C assistance (directly inundated; approved for Special Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant) | Cloncurry Shire Flinders Shire McKinlay Shire Richmond Shire Townsville City Charters Towers Shire Council Etheridge Shire Council | Yes | Yes | Category C approval letter from QRIDA to be provided for Resilience funding. To be eligible for Repairs funding, small business must have exhausted all eligible DRFA funding up to $50,000 and have any insurance assessment completed. Evidence required for Repairs funding:
|
| Not eligible Category C assistance (indirectly impacted) | Cloncurry Shire Flinders Shire McKinlay Shire Richmond Shire Townsville City Charters Towers Shire Council Etheridge Shire Council | Yes | No | Suffered indirect loss as a result of the natural disaster (e.g. unable to operate under normal day-to-day business arrangements). Examples of evidence required:
|
Eligible to receive, or received, Category B assistance Not eligible Category C | Burdekin Shire Burke Shire Carpentaria Shire Croydon Shire Douglas Shire Hinchinbrook Shire Winton Shire | Yes | Yes | Category B approval letter from QRIDA to be provided for Resilience funding. To be eligible for Repairs funding, small businesses must have any insurance assessments completed. Examples of evidence required for repairs funding:
|
| Not eligible Category B or C assistance (indirectly impacted) | Burdekin Shire Burke Shire Carpentaria Shire Croydon Shire Douglas Shire Hinchinbrook Shire Winton Shire | Yes | No | Suffered indirect loss as a result of the natural disaster (e.g. unable to operate under normal day business arrangements). Examples of evidence required:
|
Additional criteria
To be eligible the business must also:
- have fewer than 20 employees on 1 January 2019
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered for GST
- not have an owner or director who is an undischarged bankrupt or insolvent.
Only 1 application will be accepted from a business owner, individual ABN or business address for each funding stream for which they are eligible.
Small businesses who are primary producers or farm enterprises are not eligible to apply.
Guidelines
Read the application guidelines and terms and conditions.
Applying for the grant
To apply, complete the following steps:
- read the eligibility criteria
- read the application guidelines and terms and conditions
- complete an online application form using the appropriate SmartyGrants link(s) below.
Apply now:
Your application must:
- outline how you intend to use grant funding to support your small business recovery
- attach the required documentation (as outlined above and in Table 1).
More information
For more information or advice, phone 1300 654 687 or email grants@desbt.qld.gov.au.
View the 2019–20 Small business grants schedule to help plan your applications for grant rounds.
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- Last reviewed: 12 Mar 2021
- Last updated: 7 Feb 2020