This poll was conducted in February 2022.
This member poll was conducted to gather urgent feedback for the government around the proposed date comparator for the Covid Support Payment (February 2022) and to propose alternative dates for the comparator period. We know that the current period set will mean that many members will not qualify as business was already down and the period is also over a quiet period for many regions. This poll also sought feedback on the qualifying threshold of 40 per cent vs 30 per cent.
Key findings:
- 36% say an extension to the current proposed comparison to include an additional 4 weeks – to beginning December 2021 is their preferred alternate date comparator.
- 75% say if their preferred option was in place they would qualify for support.
- 28% say if the date comparator for the CSP is only 4 January – 14 February they will qualify for the support (71% say they will not).
MEMBER FEEDBACK:
“We desperately need this subsidy in order to survive, and the current criteria are a mockery given that our decline in sales started with the initial announcement of the move to red traffic light in January.”
“As we are trying to keep our team intact, wages mean that we are running at a loss, so the support payment would allow us to stay in business and keep the team employed.”
“It is a critical time for the industry and we all need support to get through the next 6 – 8 weeks to be able to support our staff and business interruptions that will be inevitable from COVID-19. We are essentially deputised as health officers with zero support for doing so. it is a tough time to find staff so it will be even harder to manage once staff are out for isolation periods and will likely eventuate that business will have to close for periods of time while we get through the worst of what is yet to come.”
Online snapshot poll: Covid support payment date comparator
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