Grants for Aviation Industry in Australia

Like many other countries, it is the aviation industry in Australia that has been badly hit by Coronavirus pandemic. International flights coming to and going out of the country have been grounded. Even domestic flights have been curtailed to a large extent, hitting the aviation industry at a massive scale. Realising the mess that the aviation industry finds itself in, the Australian government has been providing crucial financial support to the aviation industry as part of the relief package of $1.2 billion announced by the government in response to Covid-19.

Financial Assistance to Aviation Sector

Federal government has announced relief from taxes and other charges levied by the authorities to bail out airline industry suffering from massive losses because of coronavirus pandemic. This relief package called amounts to nearly $715 million. Under this package, various airlines are being given relief through fee waivers from air service charges, security charges, and fuel excise duty. The Relief Package will remain functional for a period of 9 months, starting from 1 April to 31 December 2020. Deadline will be extended if the funds remain unused until they get exhausted. The fundamental objective of this package is to reduce the cost of operations of airlines operators so that their flights become financially viable for travellers.

Eligibility Criteria 

  • You must have Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • Registration under GST
  • Must have an account in an Australian bank or any other financial institution
  • Air Operator’s Certificate for your services

Regional Air Network Assistance

Government has announced a $198 million package to help maintain regional air network. This program has been designed to help commercial airlines operating at regional levels to maintain their basic connectivity structure. This financial assistance is intended to maintain critical air services at a regional level. These include supplies of medicines and testing kits and connectivity for personnel.

Eligible entities can apply for assistance under this grants program if they are providing basic level of connectivity at a regional level.

Eligibility Criteria

  • You must have Air Operator’s Certificate for Regular Public Transport (RPT)
  • You must be providing air services on a regional basis or to remote locations prior to Covid-19 (Feb 2020)

Regional Airlines Funding Assistance

As a part of this program, government has already given $100 million as financial support to small airlines operating at a regional level. This financial assistance is intended to solve the problem of cash flow of commercial airlines operating at a regional level. This amount has been released under Regional Airlines Funding Assistance program, and it has been extended until 31 December 2020 or till the time the funds allocated are completely used. These funds will help smaller airlines to maintain connectivity for communities living in remote parts of the country.

Airline operators can apply for cash flow assistance under this program if they can prove they have been badly impacted because of Covid-19 pandemic.

Eligibility Criteria

  • You must have RPTAOC
  • You must be operating air services on regional basis or to remote locations

Financial Assistance for International Freight Operators

The federal government has provided a financial assistance of $110 million under this program that intends to keep open freight links during the times of Covid-19. This financial assistance for international freight operators is intended to help keep links with international trading partners open so that essential goods can freely come in and go out of the country. This mechanism aims to help businesses dealing in seafood, agriculture, and healthcare to re-establish their trading links that have been disrupted because of Coronavirus pandemic.

For more information regarding the above grants and any other assistance program, please speak to one of our advisors today.









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