A New South Wales government website taking applications for financial assistance for small businesses during the Covid lockdown has crashed.
The Service NSW page for the $15,000 2021 COVID-19 business grant crashed about 11am Monday, just hours after launching.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet warned the government was bracing for systems to be overwhelmed when the link became accessible on Monday morning.
Businesses impacted during Sydney’s Covid lockdowns can register at Service NSW from Monday for tax-free cash bonuses of between $7,500 and $15,000.
By late Monday morning, the site was down and replaced by a message which apologised for any inconvenience caused.
‘We’re receiving unprecedented demand for the 2021 COVID-19 business grant. We’re working through the demand and ask that you kindly come back to complete your transaction this afternoon.
The government has assured nobody will ‘miss out’ by returning at a later date to apply.
A New South Wales government website taking applications for financial assistance for small businesses during the Covid lockdown has crashed
On Sunday, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced small business owners would be entitled to grants of between $7,500 to $15,000
Businesses impacted during Sydney’s Covid lockdowns can register at Service NSW from Monday to see what they qualify for. Pictured: A quiet street in Fairfield where most shops have been forced to close during the current outbreak on Sunday
Mr Perrottet previously said he was pre-empting an influx of applications and warned that the system could be overwhelmed in the initial stages.
‘Obviously there is a significant demand right now and many people contacting the Service NSW centres, so please be patient,’ Mr Perrottet said.
‘We have reallocated our resources right across government to make sure we are able to get to your queries and get your applications processed.’
Mr Perrottet said each application will be processed as quick as possible, and he hopes that businesses will begin receiving the cash within just four days.
All small business owners have been urged to take the time over the coming days to see if they qualify for any lockdown lifelines.
The Treasurer said there would be something for everyone who has found themselves worse off as a result of the government’s efforts to stem the spread of the Delta variant of Covid.
‘There are a range of initiatives available to help small businesses with cashflow, rent costs, electricity and the like,’ he said.
‘If you contact Service NSW, you will be able to obtain what support packages are available to you. Please access that grant program.’
The money will be available to NSW businesses that make more than $75,000 and up to $50 million, and have a total annual wages bill of below $10 million.
One Bankstown local told Daily Mail Australia the new restrictions would result in him being out of work for at least two and struggling to cover the rent on his truck
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the relief package, which totals $4billion, in an attempt to sweeten the crushing news that lockdowns would be tightened across Sydney.
On Sunday, Ms Berejiklian admitted announcing the harsh restrictions on the Fairfield, Canterbury and Liverpool local government areas was ‘the most difficult day’ she’s had in her role as premier.
Authorities are reporting disproportionately high daily cases in those areas, with 79 of the 105 cases on Sunday hailing from the three locked-down local government areas.
Locals who already accessed the system by Monday morning urged others to ‘get around it’, saying it was a ‘really straight forward process’.
Individuals who find themselves out of work can also claim a weekly payment of $600 during the lockdown in a separate package that was announced last week.
Mr Perrottet urged any workers who have been struggling to log onto Service NSW to see what benefits they’re eligible for during the pandemic.
One Fairfield resident who accessed the payment said it took just five hours for his application to be processed and the money to land in his bank account.
But he warned others who are looking to apply on Monday that they’d need a Centrelink number before they could proceed.
Ms Berejiklian felt locking down southwest Sydney was the only way to keep people safe and reduce the risk of transmission after the data proved they’re ‘still not managing to get the curve of transmission to come down’.
‘Yesterday was a very, very difficult day for everybody, for everybody. And I am not embarrassed to say that in public life, yesterday was probably the most difficult day I’ve had,’ she said.
The 810,000 people living in those regions were initially told they cannot leave their suburbs even for work unless they’re employed in healthcare, aged care or emergency services until at least July 30.
Pictured: A group of demonstrators in Bankstown, in Sydney’s west, marching against lockdown on Sunday afternoon
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Any essential employees who are permitted to leave their suburbs for work are subject to the same restrictions previously in place, namely receiving a negative Covid test every three days.
‘I can’t remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘Not a single one of these decisions was taken lightly.’
Among those employees told they’re no longer essential were construction workers, many of whom have now had to lock up job sites and lapse contracts.
Hundreds of outraged southwest Sydneysiders have since taken to the streets to protest the orders.
One Bankstown local said demonstrators were furious that already severe lockdown restrictions in the southwest had been toughened.
‘People have lost their jobs and lost their freedom. I’m a truck driver, how am I going to rent my truck? Or feed my family,’ the 38-year-old, who asked to go by his initial M, told Daily Mail Australia.
New South Wales recorded 105 cases of Covid on Sunday, with 27 out in the community for their entire infectious period
He said those in Sydney’s southwest felt they were being unfairly targeted by the government.
‘When Bondi got the virus why didn’t they close those areas off?’ he said.
‘We’re not allowed to go there but they can come here. If the government is really so concerned why don’t they lock everyone down the same?’
M said the ban on construction work was particularly devastating for him and many of his friends.
‘Now I’m out of work for two weeks. Whose going to pay my rent or the $800 school fees for my two kids. Is the government going to pay that?’
‘I have two elderly parents and I can’t even visit them to make sure they’re looked after.’