Economic Support for Businesses

• one-on-one advice and support through our expanded Business Concierge Service
• 25 per cent hardship reduction on the renewal of Food Act registration fees
• Rates Financial Hardship Policy: assisting ratepayers experiencing difficulty paying their outstanding rates, fees and charges
• General Financial Hardship Policy: assisting residents and businesses experiencing difficulty paying their permits, licenses, fees and charges
• business webinar recordings: topics include Finance for small business, Tenancy negotiation, Marketing for small business, and more
• QiMentor: online learning and collaboration platform – free for all Melbourne businesses until 31 December 2021
• workshops, events and webinars: capacity building workshops and events for local businesses.

Last year we partnered with the Victorian Government to deliver a joint $100 million Melbourne City Recovery Fund for businesses and workers. The fund included $50 million from the City of Melbourne and $50 million from the Victorian Government to reactivate the central city, as part of the roadmap to a COVID-safe reopening for Melbourne. The package included funding to extend outdoor trading, waive permit fees, plus reactivation grants to help cover the cost of outdoor dining and support the safe reopening of our local businesses. Free one-on-one support sessions and webinars were also available as part of a $10 million package to support inner-city businesses.

We also launched an $8.4 million dining initiative on 11 June 2021 as part of our efforts to bring people back into the city. Melbourne Money ended as at 16 July 2021 and generated over $40 million worth of custom for our hospitality businesses.