The government recently announced an increase to the Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS). This scheme is available for businesses with 50 or fewer employees.
The SBCS was introduced to support small to medium businesses and organisations struggling with a loss of actual revenue due to COVID-19.
When the scheme was initially announced, businesses could draw down $10,000 plus $1,800 per full-time equivalent employee. This base amount has now been doubled to $20,000.
Existing borrowers will also benefit from this change as they will be able to apply for a top up loan of $10,000, plus any amount they were eligible for but did not take in their initial loan.
Applications open on Monday 21 March 2022.
The first 2 years of existing and new loans will be interest-free provided the loan is not in default. Interest will apply at a rate of 3% per year on the remaining loan balance from the first day of the third year of the loan period.
During the loan period, the following general rules apply:
- If you repay your loan in full within the first 2 years you will not be charged any interest.
- Repayments are not compulsory in the first 24 months.
- Voluntary payments can still be made at any time.
- After 24 months, you’ll be required to make regular payments for both the principal and interest.
Businesses have 60 months (five years) to pay back the loan.
A business must have been owned and operated by the current owner for at least six months. You can read more about the qualification criteria here.
To apply for the loan, or to top up, click here.
