CORONAVIRUS —
SMALL BUSINESS
755. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the minister representing the Minister for Small Business:
I refer to the impacts on small
business by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(1) How many requests
for assistance has the small business development commission received since
March 2020?
(2) How many of
these requests were for federal government stimulus support, state government
relief package support or local government support initiatives?
(3) How many small businesses have
become insolvent or bankrupt since March 2020?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the
question. The following information has been provided to me by the Minister for
Small Business.
(1) Since the
beginning of March 2020, the Small Business Development Corporation has
responded to 10 647 direct requests for assistance. In addition, a further 7 648
small businesses have sought assistance to enhance their business skills via
the SBDC's workshop program. Through the SBDC's business local
service, a further 6 163 requests for assistance were received.
(2) In relation to the direct requests to the SBDC, a total
of 3 246 inquiries were related to government stimulus and relief
measures. The SBDC also created content on its website specifically to inform
small businesses of the relevant federal,
state and local government stimulus and relief assistance measures. These
webpages have been viewed over 84 500 times since March 2020.
(3) The SBDC does not keep statistics
in relation to insolvency or bankruptcy.