Image of a brick wall on which a pink neon sign reads, "The show much go on"

The Show Must Go On

The Getting the Show Back on the Road+ program (GTSBOTR+) was introduced mid-way through 2021 with the aim to reduce the financial risks associated with running ticketed events in Western Australia during a COVID-19 impacted period. Essentially, it’s a State Government initiative designed to encourage the (safe) continuation of publicly ticketed events through sharing the risk of gross ticket sales being lost due to event cancellations due to WA COVID-19 lockdowns and/or significant disruption due to partial WA lockdowns and WA COVID-19 restrictions that cancel events.

Eligible ticketed and planned events taking place in metropolitan or regional Western Australia include music events, performing arts shows, visual arts exhibitions, culinary demonstrations and expos, tourism events funded by Tourism WA, festivals, multicultural fairs and celebrations, agricultural shows and sporting and recreation events like state championship competitions. 

Unsupported events include those that are unticketed or free, business/trade shows, education/curriculum-based experiences, events with a capacity of fewer than 100 people and/or with total capacity ticket sales of $4,999.99 or less, events held outside of Western Australia and/or events owned or run by Federal, State or Local governments. 

More information about the Getting the Show Back on the Road+ program is available on the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website.   

Getting the Show Back on the Road+ applications close at 4:00pm (WST) on the 21st of April 2022.

WA Government Small Business Stimulus/Relief

An additional $12,500 grant will be available soon to eligible small businesses that were directly impacted by the public health measures implemented on the 23rd of December 2021. More information on this specific grant and how to apply will be available on the Small Business Development Corporation website later this month.

Night Club Closures One Off Grant

The State Government has further announced a one-off grant of $20,000 is available for eligible Night Clubs forced to close as a result of the specific COVID directions issued for the 24th of December 2021 to the 4th of January 2022. Invitations to that program will be sent to eligible nightclubs.

Unclaimed Money Registers

You may have seen it mentioned on Channel 7’s The Morning Show recently, but in case you missed it, various Australian Government departments are holding over $2 billion in unclaimed payments and abandoned funds, some of which may well be yours! 

Unclaimed money arises in situations where people move homes and forget to update their address details with companies and other service / benefit providers, meaning that any money due to them cannot be subsequently paid. In such situations, the monies are eventually forwarded to the relevant jurisdictions’ unclaimed money caretaker and listed on publicly available websites for people to search and find. 

Some of the most common unclaimed money databases include:

Let us know if you find anything. Good luck!

Super Guarantee Payment Deadlines

Mark your calendars! The 2022 Superannuation Guarantee Payment deadlines are as follows:

  • 28th of January 2022;
  • 28th of April 2022;
  • 28th of July 2022; and
  • 28th of October 2022.

It is vital that any Superannuation Guarantee amounts payable are remitted before the above listed dates so that you aren’t subsequently hit with the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SG Charge), which is an additional amount you’d need to pay to the Tax Office if you didn’t pay your employees’ super:

  • on time by the quarterly due date;
  • at the new rate of 10%; and/or
  • to the right fund (for example, your employee’s chosen fund or their relevant stapled fund in the instance they haven’t notified you of their preferred super fund).

If any of the above applies to you for quarterly super payments due on the 28th of January 2022, for example, you are required to lodge a Super Guarantee Charge Statement online by the 28th of February 2022 and pay the SG Charge to the ATO. In doing so, you will avoid incurring further penalties.

The SG Charge

The SG Charge is calculated on an employee’s total salary and wages (including any overtime and some allowances) and includes interest and an administration fee of $20 per employee, per quarter.

If you’re worried you’ll have difficulty paying your Superannuation Guarantee liability and/or any applicable SG Charge amounts, please let us know so we can work with you on a solution.

Upcoming ATO Webinars

The Australian Taxation Office will soon be hosting a number of free webinars on various tax, accounting and general money matters aimed at sole traders and businesses including Considering your small business viabilityConnecting online with the ATO: sole traders, and Strategies for improving your cash flow, just to name a few.

Webinar places are limited and available on a first come, first served basis, so if you see anything in the list that piques your interest, we highly recommend you reserve your place today.