Sunraysia businesses considering building upgrades are now able to capitalise on special terms for Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUA).
An EUA is an agreement in which a financial institution advances funds to a commercial or agricultural property owner to undertake upgrade works which improve their building’s environmental performance.
These funds are then re-payed through the property owner’s Council rates.
To give local businesses a helping hand during the COVID-19 pandemic, Council is working with Better Building Finance and Sustainable Australia Fund (SAF) to provide special terms for local businesses settling EUAs before the end of June 2020.
These terms include:
- no application fees
- GST can be financed and claimed back on BAS statements
- up to six months repayment holiday (subject to approval).
In addition, applicants are able to claim 100 per cent tax write-off on the asset.
There has also been a change to Victorian legislation removing the previous 28-day waiting period on new finance applications, which means projects can get off the ground even quicker.
Councillor for Environment and Farming Sustainability Anthony Cirillo encouraged local business owners to take advantage of the special terms before 30 June.
“EUAs are a great way for local businesses to access up to 100 per cent of funding for works that improve the energy, water or environmental efficiency or sustainability of existing buildings,” Cr Cirillo said.
“Fixed interest, quarterly repayments are then made to Council over a period of up to 20 years, meaning most projects can be cash flow positive from day one.”
Sustainable Australia Fund CEO Scott Bocskay said the fund launched the special terms to put immediate savings into the pockets of businesses.
“While we understand that environmental upgrade projects may not be front of mind right now, when financed with SAF they can help businesses significantly reduce their operating costs and put more money in their pocket today when it is needed most,” Mr Bocskay said.
To date, Council has supported the installation of 280 kilowatts of solar PV at seven commercial properties within our municipality through EUAs. This has injected more than $300,000 into the local economy.
The Mildura Local Government Area is currently number three in Australia for the number of EUAs signed.
