{"id":369,"date":"2020-02-19T21:13:05","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T21:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/?p=369"},"modified":"2020-02-19T21:54:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T21:54:46","slug":"bushfire-support-and-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/bushfire-support-and-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Bushfire support and assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a>What we can do for you<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are impacted by bushfires, we can help. Many will need to lodge economic loss claims to ensure that the true value of what they have lost is recognised. We will help with these claims pro-bono. And, of course, to work with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) on disaster relief requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a>Tax relief<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Approximately\n3.5 million businesses, individuals, and self-managed superannuation funds in\nidentified areas (see the list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ato.gov.au\/Individuals\/Dealing-with-disasters\/In-detail\/Specific-disasters\/Bushfires-2019-20\/?anchor=ImpactedpostcodesidentifiedinDecember#ImpactedpostcodesidentifiedinDecember\">affected postcodes<\/a>) have been granted special\nconcessions and relief by the ATO:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>An\nautomatic extension until 28 May 2020 to lodge and pay activity statements,\nincome tax, SMSF and FBT lodgements.<\/li><li>The deferral does not apply to:<\/li><li>Superannuation guarantee\npayments or lodgements<\/li><li>Large PAYG withholders\n(although they will be assessed on a case by case basis if they apply for\nrelief from the ATO)<\/li><li>Fast tracking of refunds due<\/li><li>Tax debt recovery on hold until\n28 May 2020. <\/li><li>Impacted taxpayers need to\napply for special consideration. The ATO has stated they will, \u201cconsider\nreleasing individuals and businesses from income tax and fringe benefits tax\ndebts if they are experiencing serious hardship.\u201d<\/li><li>Interest and penalties accrued\nby taxpayers in affected areas since the bushfires commenced will be remitted<\/li><li>Income tax instalments able to\nbe varied to nil without penalty<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are\nnot in one of the identified postcodes but have been impacted by the bushfires,\nrelief might still be available to you. When can work with the ATO on your\nbehalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a>Support for individuals and families<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Services Australia have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanservices.gov.au\/individuals\/subjects\/how-access-our-services\">mobile units<\/a> assisting those in fire affected areas.\u00a0 Several payments and different forms of relief are available to those in fire affected areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanservices.gov.au\/individuals\/help-emergency\">Disaster recovery payments<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nDisaster recovery payment is a tax exempt Federal Government payment available\nto those who are seriously injured, have lost an immediate family member, have\nlost their home or had it significantly damaged, or have lost major assets (or\ndamaged):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>$1,000 for each eligible adult,\nand <\/li><li>$400 for a dependent child\nunder the age of 16. <\/li><li>An additional $400 to help with\neducation expenses for eligible children. These payments are automatic if you\nare the primary carer of a child affected by the bushfires after 30 June 2019.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#008e97\">Loss of income: Disaster recovery allowance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you work\nin a bushfire affected area, are an Australian resident over 16 years of age,\nare not already receiving a Government allowance, and have lost income as a\nresult of the fires, you might be able to claim the Disaster recovery\nallowance. The allowance provides income support for up to 13 weeks (equivalent\nto the maximum Newstart or Youth Allowance).\n\nYou will need to prove that you earnt below the\nrelevant income threshold to access the payment. While these payments are\nnormally taxable, the Government has announced that it plans to introduce\nlegislation that would make them tax-free, but this is not yet law. \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#008e97\">Mental health support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Up to 10 free support sessions are available through <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.health.gov.au\/internet\/main\/publishing.nsf\/content\/phn-home?Open=&amp;utm_source=health.gov.au&amp;utm_medium=redirect&amp;utm_campaign=digital_transformation&amp;utm_content=phn\">primary health networks<\/a>. In addition, Medicare rebates for 10 psychological therapy sessions through eligible GPs, psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers (you will not need a GP referral to access these services).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#008e97\">Phone, internet and energy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the\ntelecommunications providers are offering support packages for those impacted\nby the fires including free call diversion, extended time for bill payments,\nbill waivers in extreme hardship, and free prepaid recharges. Contact your\nprovider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canstarblue.com.au\/electricity\/energy-companies-bushfire-support\/\">energy providers<\/a> are also offering support such as\nfreezing accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#008e97\"><a>Support for business<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Businesses\nin fire affected areas that have suffered direct losses or indirect economic\nloss may be able to access:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Recovery grants of up to\n$50,000<\/strong> (tax free) <\/li><li><strong>Concessional loans of up to\n$500,000<\/strong> for eligible small businesses (including\nfarmers, fishers and foresters) and non-profit organisations who have suffered\nsignificant asset loss of significant loss to revenue. The loan would be for up\nto 10 years and used for the purposes of restoring or replacing damaged assets\nand for working capital. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A range of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business.gov.au\/SearchResult?query=bushfireassistance&amp;type=1\">State Government grants<\/a> are also available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a>Support for volunteer firefighters<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Volunteer\nfirefighters in NSW and QLD may be eligible for payments of up to $300 per day,\nwith a cap of $6,000. The payments are not means tested and are tax-free. The\npayment is a Federal Government initiative administered by the State\nGovernments (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.service.nsw.gov.au\/transaction\/apply-volunteer-firefighter-payment\">Volunteer Firefighter Payment<\/a> for NSW and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qld.gov.au\/emergency\/volunteering-jobs\/volunteer\/qfes-volunteer-compensation-package\">Volunteer Compensation Package<\/a> for QLD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are\nin the public sector, you now have access to 20 days of paid emergency services\nleave to work on the front lines in addition to normal leave provisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many\ntelecommunications providers are offering eligible volunteer firefights and SES\nvolunteers support. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optus.com.au\/about\/media-centre\/media-releases\/2020\/01\/optus-waives-mobile-bills-for-volunteer-firefighters\">Optus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/exchange.telstra.com.au\/free-calls-for-firies\/\">Telstra<\/a>, for example, will cover the bills of these\nvolunteers for December 2019 and January 2020. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ten million hectares, lives lost, wildlife on the brink, billions in lost revenue and clean-up costs. For many, returning life to normal is a long way off this summer. We summarise the help available to those impacted by the bushfires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,26,31,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ausbiz","category-business-tip","category-economy-and-policy","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}