Federal economic response to COVID-19

NECA welcomes the Federal Government announcement on 13 March 2020 of a $17.6 billion stimulus package designed to counter the negative economic impacts to business, jobs and the community arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government has announced a number of measures that will:

  • Support small and medium business including increasing instant asset write-off opportunities and time-limited incentives around depreciation deductions;
  • Deliver cash flow assistance for small and medium-sized businesses in the form of covering costs of employee wages and salaries and helping to retain apprentices;

***This initiative will be of enormous assistance to members with less than 20 staff, for whom it will effectively be a 50% saving on the cost of the wages of an apprentice either directly indentured or hired through EGT. We are still waiting for the government to release details on how to apply for the scheme but as soon as that information is available, we will inform members. 

  • Enable financial assistance for regions severely affected by the coronavirus.

NECA members may be eligible to receive assistance based upon the Government's recent announcements. 

View NECA's fact sheet >