9 April 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Further assistance for organisations, people and households

Assistance for organisations

This update to the provider alert we issued on 26 March 2020 contains an updated summary of Australian Government measures available to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 26 March 2020, additional financial support measures for small businesses and not-for-profit organisations have been announced to provide further assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• JobKeeper payment: Under the JobKeeper payment, businesses significantly impacted by COVID-19 will be able to access a subsidy to continue paying their employees. Eligible employers will be able to claim a fortnightly payment of $1,500 per eligible employee from 30 March 2020, for a maximum period of six months. The payment will also be available to charities that have experienced or expect to experience, a 15 per cent decline in turnover because of COVID-19. Eligibility criteria and other information is available in in the JobKeeper payment: Information for employers fact sheet.
• Advance payments to providers: Eligible registered NDIS providers received a one-off advance payment in the week commencing 30 March 2020.
• Apprentice and trainee wage subsidy: Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage paid during the nine months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.
• Finding support workers: The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) encourages participants looking for support workers and providers looking for new staff to use online disability supports matching platforms to quickly access support workers.
• Jobs Hub: Employers with an increased demand for workers in areas such as the health and care sectors, transport and logistics, mining, manufacturing, agriculture and government sectors that need to fill staffing gaps quickly can contact the Australian Government Jobs Hub to access support.
• Commercial tenancy mandatory Code of Conduct: Commercial landlords are legally required to engage in good faith with tenants who meet criteria about rental arrangements. The Code applies to tenancies where the tenant is a small-medium sized business (annual turnover of up to $50 million) and is eligible for the JobKeeper payment.
• Business Liaison Unit: The Coronavirus Business Liaison Unit has been created in Treasury which is engaging with peak business and industry groups on systemic issues arising from Coronavirus to ensure these are being brought to attention of Government.

Assistance for people and households

There are a number of new Australian Government financial support measures to assist individuals and households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Support for sole traders whose income has reduced: The Australian Government has established the JobKeeper Payment for sole traders if their turnover has reduced. After the eligible business registers, the Government will provide $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee, for a maximum of 6 months. This will support sole traders to maintain their income and connection with employees. The JobKeeper Payment is treated as income for the purposes of social security payments, therefore you must report your change in circumstances to Services Australia. The JobKeeper Payment will likely impact income support payment rates or eligibility. 
• Support for people receiving the Disability Support Pension or Carers payment: The Australian Government is providing two separate $750 payments to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession cardholders. These payments will support households to manage the economic impact of the coronavirus. 
• Support for participants who have lost their job or been stood down: The Australian Government is temporarily expanding eligibility to income support payments for individuals and establishing a new, time-limited Coronavirus supplement of $550 per fortnight. This supplement will be paid to both existing and new recipients of the eligible payment categories, and will apply for the next six months.
• Support for individuals: The Australian Government will allow individuals in financial stress as a result of the Coronavirus early access to superannuation of up to $10,000 in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21. Eligible individuals will be able to apply online through myGov to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation before 1 July 2020, and a further $10,000 from 1 July 2020 for another three months. They will not need to pay tax on amounts released and the money they withdraw will not affect Centrelink or Veterans’ Affairs payments.

Further information, alerts and resources

• The Coronavirus (COVID-19) information webpage on the NDIS Commission website contains links to updates, training, alerts and other resources. We also have a COVID-19 webpage containing information for people with disability.
• For more information about the Government’s stimulus package, visit Treasury’s Economic Response to the Coronavirus.
• For news advice and updates across all government departments, visit the Australian Government website.

Contact Us

• Call: 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines). Our contact centre is open 9.00am to 4.30pm in the NT, 9.00am to 5.00pm in the ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS and VIC Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
• Email: contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au
• Website: www.ndiscommission.gov.au

Links to previous COVID-19 provider alerts 

• 9 April 2020: April 2020 Provider Newsletter (COVID-19)
• 3 April 2020: Adjusting supports and reducing infection risk
• 2 April 2020:  Practice Alert: Influenza (flu) vaccine from mid-April 2020
• 31 March 2020: Supporting providers to respond
• 26 March 2020: Assistance for organisations
• 24 March 2020: Information for support workers and access to PPE
• 19 March 2020: Business continuity planning
• 17 March 2020: Online training module for support workers
• 9 March 2020: Provider obligations and COVID-19 health information
• 7 February 2020: Information about the novel coronavirus outbreak