With Omicron causing unprecedented disruption to retail, hospitality and tourism businesses, a coalition of peak industry groups is calling for urgent government action around six priority areas to prevent business collapse.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA), Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA) and the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) said devastating Omicron impacts have struck whilst there is almost no government support.
Ongoing supply chain challenges, a record low in consumer confidence and up to 50 per cent of workers going into isolation during January have forced forcing many businesses to close or limit their trading hours.
“This year has seen business enter unchartered waters, with Omicron impacting business more than any other time in the pandemic with almost no government support,” says ARA CEO Paul Zahra.
“Around 70 per cent of ARA members say they currently have staff in isolation, a third has limited trading hours in some locations, and around one in five has had to close some stores altogether due staff shortages. These challenges are going to be with us for some time and targeted support is desperately needed from government so small businesses can survive.”
The groups have called on government to commit to six immediate areas of focus to support business during this time.
1 Access to Rapid Antigen Tests
Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) are a critical resource as we adjust to living with Covid and they should be easily accessible and affordable for businesses to assist with the testing of their staff.
The groups call on the Federal Government to underwrite the cost of RATs so businesses are not lumped with additional costs―on top of the trading impacts they’re currently suffering.
2 Expand close contact isolation exemptions
Omicron is forcing tens of thousands of people into isolation every day and staff shortages across the economy are immense.
Whilst a range of industries have been included in the list of workers who are exempt from close contact isolation requirements, this needs to cascade out to workers in retail, hospitality and tourism, allowing these businesses to continue serving customers while keeping everyone safe.
3 Access to skilled staff
The groups welcome the Federal Government’s recent announcements to lure more international students and working holiday makers into the country through visa rebates. These workers will fill roles generally at the lower and medium skilled positions level.
These workers need to be prioritised to fill the remaining labour shortages in the hospitality, tourism and retail industries which are predominantly skilled.
At all times the groups support the priority of providing jobs to Australians and training Australians where they exist. However, the retail, hospitality and tourism industries were already dealing with skills shortages before the Omicron wave. These sectors require prioritisation with more specialised workers on the skilled migrant workers list.
4 Rent relief
Rent is a major pain point for business and leasing codes of conduct have now expired in most jurisdictions, leaving small businesses vulnerable to significant cash flow challenges in the first quarter of this year.
The groups thank the NSW and Victorian governments for extending rent negotiation rights for small business until mid-March. However, rent relief is only available to businesses with turnover of up to $5 million (in NSW) and $10 million (in Victoria). We’re calling for the threshold to be lifted to $50 million―as it was previously―and for similar supports to be reinstated or introduced across the other states and territories.
5 Targeted cash grants
Targeted cash grants, including the JobSaver program, were a lifesaver for businesses and should be reinstated. It’s clear that the impacts of Omicron are widespread and ongoing and that targeted and temporary cash grants are needed to keep small businesses most affected alive until they come out the other side of this current crisis.
6 Reduce red tape
The last thing businesses need to be focused on right now is regulation and red tape.
Feedback is that employer reporting requirements for positive cases are onerous, overwhelming teams and causing resources to be diverted to administration which is a roadblock to other safety and support issues.
The ARA, R&CA and TTF are pleased to see a reduction in some of the duplicate reporting requirements within Victoria. We call on the other states and territories to do the same.
