Queensland small businesses are being reminded that state government help is available, Employment and Small Business Minister Shannon Fentiman said today.
The Minister said more than 5,000 small businesses had contacted the Queensland Government’s Small Business Hotline for help and assistance with finding out what was available.
“We want to make sure Queensland small businesses can access the advice and support they need to stay open and keep people in jobs,” the Minister said.
“That’s why we’ve doubled the number of staff taking calls to the Small Business Hotline and there are now more personnel across our regional offices.
“Understanding what is available such as funding, payroll tax refunds and energy rebates will ensure our thousands of businesses can access vital support.”
The Minister said the hotline had helped a large number of small businesses in a range of ways from advice on how to apply for financial assistance to referrals to the right agency and websites for the help they need.
She said a large percentage of the small businesses were from the tourism sector and have been assisted with advice covering all aspects of business operation from rent and payroll tax relief to staff entitlements and work commutes.
Through Business Queensland’s Facebook page, businesses have engaged primarily with posts about the new JobKeeper package and tips by the Queensland Small Business Champion Maree Adshead.
Around 550 small businesses have registered for the TAFE Queensland financial assistance webinars being held across five regions this month.
The Palaszczuk government has also partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland to provide additional staff to reach non-members, particularly in regional areas.
“My message to small business in Queensland is we are here to help,” the Minister said.
“It doesn’t matter what type of small business you are, we are here to offer advice. We’ve already helped a wide range of businesses from radiographers and personal trainers to mobile dog groomers and picture framers.
“In fact, we have already helped thousands and we have boosted our capacity to help even more.
“We are using as many avenues as possible to get the message to small businesses about the range of assistance available and our radio awareness campaign started in South East Queensland this week.
“We will continue to monitor the feedback from our small businesses and respond to the areas of need.”
