Coronavirus business grants: Couple reveals frustrating delays with assistance payouts
It’s the lifeline needed to help businesses hit by the coronavirus downturn. But a couple has been battling for months to get a $10,000 grant which should have been sorted in two weeks.
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A couple whose travel agency has been decimated because of coronavirus has spent almost three months trying to get a $10,000 government lifeline that’s supposed to be sorted within two weeks.
Michelle Levins and Derek Harwood, whose business My Cruise Concierge has suffered a 95 drop in revenue, said they desperately needed the support to stay afloat.
The situation was especially difficult for the Forest Hill couple, who have two children, because Mr Harwood had been diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer.
Ms Levins on July 20 applied for a $10,000 grant through the State Government’s Business Support Fund Expansion program, which aims to process applications within 10 business days.
She waited twice that before the application was rejected due to an issue with a JobKeeper receipt number and had to apply again.
Ms Levins again heard nothing for weeks only to be told on inquiring there was an anomaly with the postal address on WorkCover documents — forcing her to apply for a third time on Thursday.
“It’s frustrating,’’ Ms Levins said.
“We are very grateful — but it’s essential for us to keep our business running.”
Staff fielding calls about the program have advised of a “huge backlog” of applicants.
A Business Victoria email advises it’s experiencing delays “due to the high volume of applications received”.
Ms Levins, contacted about her application on Friday after the Herald Sun’s inquiries, said the tourism industry had endured massive challenges like the September 11 attacks and Bali bombings but coronavirus was something else.
Her business — now confined to handling cancellations and refunds — is unlikely to make money again until 2022.
“We have never come across anything like this,’’ Ms Levins said.
“The cruise industry has copped a hammering — all of travel is under the microscope.
“We were one of the first industries to feel the impact of it and we will probably be the last industry to recover.
“Because we have so much going on we can’t look at it far ahead — we are just trying to put one foot in front of the other.”
More than 108,000 businesses have so far received payments totalling $1.4 billion through the Business Support Fund.
Applications not having correct documentation or information were key reasons for processing delays.
“This is an extremely difficult time for businesses and we are getting money out the door as quickly as we can to support them,’’ a State Government spokesman said.
“We aim to process all Business Support Fund applications within 10 business days.”
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