Hawkesbury Council is calling on businesses affected by the recent bushfires to take advantage of business community grants.
Applications for a number of grants are now open, co-ordinated by BizReBuild, a business-led initiative developed by the Business Council of Australia to provide practical and on ground assistance to small and local businesses left devastated by the bushfires
The aim is to quickly restore jobs and small businesses to ensure townships do not fold and fade away.
The BizRebuild Support for NSW Businesses Fact Sheet is available at the Hawkesbury Business Hub, yourhawkesbury-yoursay.com.au.
A NSW Small Business Bushfire Support Grant of $10,000 is also available for eligible small fire-affected businesses in the state's most severely affected areas.
These are determined by the state government and can help with expenses such as wages, salaries, utilities, fuel and financial advice.
In addition to fulfilling other requirements, businesses must have experienced a 40 per cent drop in revenue over a three-month period, compared to the previous year, as a result of the bushfires.
Applications can be made via the Service NSW website or by visiting a Mobile Service Centre or Recovery Centre.
For more information and the application form, visit service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-small-business-bushfire-support-grant
Detailed application guidelines are available at service.nsw.gov.au/nsw-small-business-bushfire-support-grant-guidelines
A grant of up to $50,000 is available to eligible small business and non-profit organisations that have suffered direct damage to their premises or equipment as a result of the bushfires.
The grants are designed to help cover the costs associated with the clean-up and reinstatement of entities' operations, such as the removal and disposal of damaged goods and materials, the hire or purchase of essential goods and/or replacing stock needed to resume operations.
For more information, visit service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-bushfire-recovery-grant-directly-impacted-small-businesses#introduction
A Special Disaster Grants - primary producers - of up to $75,000 is also available. Applications close July31.
These grants are designed to help primary producers pay for immediate costs associated with property clean-up, reinstatement activities and other emergency measures, such as disposing of dead stock, and rebuilding or replacing damaged or destroyed on-farm infrastructure.
For more information, visit raa.nsw.gov.au/disaster-assistance/special-disaster-grant-bushfires.