The Restaurant Association has welcomed the new financial support package for businesses, announced on Monday afternoon.
"Hospitality businesses are bleeding cash at the moment so this will bring some very welcome relief to business owners," says CEO of the Restaurant Association Marisa Bidois.
"Whilst we’re relieved to see this payment coming now, we would like to have seen the threshold slightly lower at 30 per cent, to reflect the average losses our members are reporting and more fairly reflect the accumulative effect of the revenue drops which members are experiencing year on year.
"However, we are still confident that this will be a big help to so many small businesses struggling to cover basic costs right now."
The Restaurant Association has also welcomed the return of the small business loan scheme which offers businesses the opportunity to access up to $10,000 to be paid back within the next five years.
"Omicron is having a sizeable effect on our industry right now which sadly we don’t see changing imminently. CBD’s are empty and many are still hesitant to spend time in public spaces and this is going to continue to hit hospitality hard, so this support package could not have come sooner."
