Business

Small business owners and sole traders can now apply for a NSW Government rebate of up to $1,000 to make their workplaces safer with $1 million added to the Small Business Rebate Program.

Minister for Fair Trading Eleni Petinos said the rebate has been doubled and the program expanded with a renewed focus on helping businesses ensure they are COVID safe.

“We have doubled the rebate support from $500 to $1,000 per application to encourage small business owners and sole traders to think about how they can make their workplaces safer,” Ms Petinos said.

“Small businesses have experienced challenges through the Omicron wave of the pandemic and this initiative is part of the NSW Government’s commitment to support small businesses in bouncing back.”

Projects that may be eligible for the rebate include: • Workplace hygiene products including

hand sanitiser stations and sneeze/ cough guards • Access ramps to move products safely • Guard rails to reduce falls for those working at heights • Items that reduce risks of injury from lifting and moving heavy equipment • Forklift safety measures such as specialised seatbelts, anti-

vibration seats, automatic stop/ go barriers and reversing light systems • Machinery protection measures such as pressure mats with auto cutoff sensors • Protections including ramps to load goods onto vehicles, conveyor systems and specialised stacking and racking systems • Specialised hearing

protectors for noisy workplaces to prevent industrial deafness • Sunshade protection to help safeguard outdoor workers from sunburn and skin cancer.

Ms Petinos said the Small Business Rebate Program has been in operation since 2012 with the rebate providing safety information and incentives for small

SMALL BUSINESSES BE COVID SAFE ACOSS CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie, responded to today’s Press Club speech by the RBA Governor, Dr Philip Lowe, urging the RBA to continue to prioritise lower unemployment over premature interest “Full employment is not an abstract thing for people who are unemployed battling on income support payments of $45 a day. “ACOSS welcomes and strongly supports the Governor’s commitment, repeated today, to put leave interest rates where they are until there is clear, consistent and convincing evidence that wages are rising strongly after a decade of stagnation. “We mustn’t forget that there are still 1.1 million people languishing on businesses to improve unemployment payments, and invest in safety including 900,000 people outcomes. unemployed long-term, “The program also 500,000 aged 45 or older, has a strong focus on 400,000 with a disability, education and supports 100,000 caring for a small businesses across all industries by helping child alone, and 100,000 from First Nations communities. They’re to start conversations at the back of the job about improving queue, not because they safety outcomes in the aren’t trying, but because workplace,” Ms Petinos many employers are still said. wary of giving them a “I encourage small chance. Only consistently business owners and sole traders to apply for low unemployment and a fresh investment in decent employment the rebate if they are services, work experience eligible.” and training programs will change that. Dairy farmers respond to Woolworths milk price changes “We can have both low unemployment The RBA Board’s patient and considered approach means a lot for those worst affected by poverty and unemployment, including underemployment, and we urge the Bank to stick with it. NSW Farmers Dairy Committee Chair Colin Thompson has thanked Woolworths for transparency on the removal of the drought levy, but says more needs to be done on delivering fair milk prices.

On Friday Woolworths wrote to farmers via milk processors advising the 10-cent per litre levy on own-brand milk – which it introduced in 2018 – would be removed at the end of June. Mr Thompson said while dairy farmers were dual battle of dollara-litre milk and tough drought conditions, there was still a long way to go in rebuilding the industry. “The irrational dollara-litre pricing model nearly killed the dairy industry, we cannot let that happen ever again,” Mr Thompson said. “It’s starting to look like the big supermarkets and their customers understand the value of supporting our local dairy industry, but there is a degree of disappointment among dairy farmers that the drought levy was not rolled into the base price. “Fair, market-based pricing that recognises the true cost of production is what dairy farmers need for a sustainable future.” NSW Farmers recently announced it would ramp up dairy advocacy efforts with the creation of a new role, and Mr Thompson said they would continue to competition policy. “NSW Farmers strongly advocated for the Dairy Code of Conduct that came into effect on January 1, 2020, and further strengthening of the code will ensure farmers continue to be treated fairly and equitably, while ensuring longevity and growth of a critical industry,” Mr Thompson said.