Dear Members,

ACT COVID ALERT

The ACT Government has further extended its lockdown until 5 pm, Friday 17 September

There will be some amendments to restrictions, including for lower-risk outdoor activities.

These amendments will come into effect from 5:00 pm this Thursday (2 September), and include:

• One household (any size) or up to 5 people can gather outdoors for up to 2 hours for exercise or non-organised recreation.
• Outdoor playgrounds will reopen where people can maintain physical distancing. Enclosed playgrounds will need to apply the one person per four square metre rule.
• The number of people able to attend a funeral increased to no more than 20 people (excluding the people necessary to conduct the funeral).
• The number of people able to attend a wedding increased to no more than 10 attendees (excluding the celebrant, but including persons being married and two witnesses).
• Other religious ceremonies which are time-critical are permitted to go ahead with no more than 10 people (excluding those conducting the service).
• The recommencement of services that operate outdoors and where physical distancing can be maintained, such as outdoor maintenance and gardening and dog grooming services.
• ACT schools will continue with remote learning for the rest of Term 3. All ACT public schools and Early Childhood Education and Care services, including out-of-school hours care, will remain open for children of parents and carers who cannot work from home and vulnerable children.

Restrictions for retail businesses remain unchanged.

For more information about restrictions in the ACT, please visit: https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/act-status-and-response/lockdown#ACT-lockdown-extended

Increased support for ACT businesses impacted by COVID-19

The Commonwealth and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Governments have worked together to expand the COVID-19 Business Support Grants with the extension of the ACT lockdown to 17 September.

Reflecting the extension of the lockdown, the one-off ACT COVID-19 Business Support Grants will be increased by $10,000 for employing businesses and $3,500 for non-employing businesses where those businesses’ turnover has declined by 30 percent or more as a result of the COVID-19 health restrictions.

Businesses must be able to demonstrate their primary operation in the ACT, have an annual turnover of more than $75,000, be registered for GST, and have a total payroll of less than $10 million. They will also need to provide evidence of a 30 percent reduction in their turnover.

The package will be split on a 50/50 basis between the Commonwealth and the ACT Governments, with the Territory government to administer the program. This is a similar arrangement that has been in place for businesses in other jurisdictions impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns.

This increases the payments that were originally agreed under the COVID-19 Business Support Grants.

Anyone who has made an application does not need to make a new application – the new payments will be automatically applied if you are eligible. First payments are likely to be made in the coming days.

Businesses can find further information and apply for grants here. This information is being updated through the day to account for the increased grant payment size.

Yours sincerely,

Brendan Tohill | Chief Executive Officer
NLNA – National Lotteries Newsagents Association

Dear Newsagents,

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Yours sincerely,

Brendan Tohill | Chief Executive Officer
NLNA – National Lotteries Newsagents Association