Treasurer Matt Kean set to reboot a highly-targeted JobSaver program

Certain NSW businesses will be targeted by a scaled-back, highly-targeted reboot to the JobSaver program.

A scaled-back, highly-targeted JobSaver program is being looked at by the NSW government to get small businesses through the “shadow lockdown” sparked by the Omicron outbreak.

The support package is set to include fortnightly payments for small and medium enterprises which have experienced hardship during the current Covid surge.

In a bid to ensure money is spent where it can have the greatest impact, strict rules for who will be eligible will be in place.

Matt Kean is understood to be taking the support package to cabinet’s expenditure review committee on Thursday for final sign-off. Picture: Jeremy Piper

The package will be more targeted than the JobSaver program rolled out during the Delta lockdown, with fewer businesses expected to be eligible.

Small and medium enterprises are likely to qualify for support, but there is set to be a cap on payments – meaning businesses with turnover above a certain threshold could miss out.

It’s understood Treasurer Matt Kean will take the support package to cabinet’s expenditure review committee on Thursday for final sign-off.

“We are looking at a range of measures to keep people in work and help businesses get through this economic shock,” Mr Kean said.

“Our focus is on making sure we can get through this economic shock and bounce bet better when this wave passes.”

Industry representatives have called on the Perrottet government to reinstate the regular JobSaver support payments, and one-off business support grants, amid a dramatic slump in consumer spending.

The state government is working with the commonwealth on ways to support the economy amid plummeting consumer confidence, but Mr Kean is prepared to go it alone if necessary.

As revealed by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, Mr Kean is preparing to slash red tape in a bid to make it easier for businesses to employ staff and ease supply chain bottlenecks.

But Labor leader Chris Minns declared small businesses need more than red tape reform to stay open.

“They’re going to need financial support,” he said. “That’s the only way I can see thousands of businesses surviving what is a shadow lockdown in NSW.”

Health officials have encouraged people to work from home if they can and reduce the size of household gatherings to slow the Omicron spread.

Consumer confidence and activity has dramatically dropped amid the surge in Covid cases, close contact isolation requirements, and fear of catching the virus.