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Grants for bank customers impacted by floods

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Big 4 bank support for NSW and QLD customers impacted by February flooding

Please contact your bank directly to discuss any financial support.

ANZ

ANZ announced a financial relief package for customers affected by significant flooding across south-east Queensland and parts of northern New South Wales with severe weather systems continuing to threaten more damage.

ANZ customers affected by flooding are encouraged to contact ANZ’s dedicated financial hardship team on 1800 149 549 or at anz.com.au/support/natural-disaster-support/.

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Commonwealth Bank

Commonwealth Bank is providing its Emergency Assistance to customers and businesses in flood-affected areas in South-East Queensland and New South Wales.

To access this support please phone CBA on 1800 314 695 or visit a branch where it is safe to do so. Further information about Emergency Assistance is available online at  commbank.com.au/emergencyassistance.

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National Australia Bank

NAB will provide $1,000 grants and additional financial relief to customers and colleagues affected by floods in the Northern Rivers region in NSW, to assist them in the immediate aftermath of the natural disaster.

The grants will give NAB customers and colleagues who have experienced significant damage to their homes ready access to funds to meet their immediate needs. Business and agriculture customers who have suffered damage or losses because of the floods are also eligible.

NAB customers who have suffered damage to their home and need assistance can call NAB Assist on 1300 308 132. All enquiries will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the NAB Assist team to determine eligibility.

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Westpac

Westpac has launched a $2 million fund to help small businesses impacted by the floods in Queensland and New South Wales access financial help.

Small business customers who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for $3,000 in cash grants per customer group to help with urgent expenses or repairs by contacting their banker or calling Westpac’s customer support teams.

Read more »

Did your paper-based office-based bookkeeping systems let you down during the floods? Now’s the time to think about a Cloud Bookkeeping solution — ask us how on 1300 015 130.

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Struggling to go green?

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How digital tools can help small business

With the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference now behind us, did we make any progress in the small business community?

We all have a role to play and, while small businesses may be facing many challenges on the home front – from Brexit fallout to Covid recovery and more – there are still ways to contribute.

While no single business or organisation has all the answers, what everyone can do is take action by making reductions to their carbon footprint.

Putting your best foot forward

Calculating your carbon footprint – the first key step in tackling the business’ impact on the environment – is often a granular, laborious process.

There isn’t much support for small businesses looking to make a tangible impact on their carbon footprint, while putting sustainable practices in place can be seen as complicated and expensive.

Thankfully, there are digital tools available on the new Xero App Store that enable small businesses to simplify this process.

One of these tools is Spherics – an app that automates the process of carbon accounting, offering a comprehensive snapshot of the environmental impact of a business in minutes. Spherics combines transaction data from Xero with a carbon intensity database to convert pounds spent with a merchant into an estimated Carbon Dioxide equivalent.

What does this mean in practice? For small businesses, the hugely time-consuming, finicky process of capturing every carbon-intensive aspect of their operations is instead carried out – quickly, affordably and with accuracy.

Share your sustainability story

This is just scratching the surface of the work done by a number of Xero’s partners, delivering solutions to help small businesses achieve their sustainability goals.

It’s good to know that businesses can take matters into their own hands and effect genuine change right now.

For more tips, advice and bookkeeping essentials for your business, visit How We Help You and get started today with Notch Above Bookkeeping, Australia-wide.

Source: Xero

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Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment for NSW, QLD flood victims

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Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child is now available for people impacted by flooding.

Residents in 26 flood-affected local government areas across Queensland and New South Wales can start applying for Commonwealth financial support through Services Australia from 9am today.

  • Eligible residents can claim support via myGov or by calling Services Australia on 180 22 66

  • Claims for AGDRP and DRA for NSW local government areas will be open at 2pm (AEDT) from 1 March 2022

  • Affected Queensland local government areas can claim AGDRP from 9am (AEST) and can claim DRA from 1pm (AEST) from 1 March 2022

  • The DRFA assistance provides grants of up to $180 per person, to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more.

Queensland residents in Brisbane, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, South Burnett, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba local government areas are included.

These communities are in addition to the local government areas of Gympie and North Burnett, who became eligible to apply on 28 February 2022. Payments are available in Gympie and North Burnett local government areas and the Queensland Government is responsible for activating these payments.

Financial support has now been activated for Northern New South Wales local government areas of Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed.

The AGDRP is a one-off, non-means tested payment and is available to eligible people in those affected local government areas who have suffered a significant loss, including a severely damaged or destroyed home or serious injury.

Disaster Recovery Allowance

The Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) will also be provided into the 26 affected local government areas.

The DRA assists employees, small business persons and farmers who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster. This allowance provides for a maximum of 13 weeks payment from the date you have or will have a loss of income as a direct result of a disaster. The DRA payment is set at the maximum equivalent rate of Jobseeker Payment or Youth Allowance, depending on your personal circumstances, and is taxable.

Australian Defence Force personnel continue to support the emergency response efforts and will do more once the water recedes and the recovery effort starts. This includes the arrival of the ADF in Lismore to assist NSW.

For more information on support available, visit servicesaustralia.gov.au/disaster

Source: pm.gov.au