The plan is exactly what we have been calling for and it will help your business to reopen very soon. Stage one allows up to five visitors to homes, gatherings of up to 10 people outside the home and increasing shopping, business and retail activity – including small restaurants and cafes, home sales and auctions, and local and regional travel. Stages two and three extend the size of gatherings and range of businesses permitted to trade.

However, the Prime Minister stressed that the implementation of these stages is up to individual states and territories, and there should be no expectation of stage one starting on day one.

Premier Andrews has confirmed that an announcement will be made on 11 May about when Victorian restrictions will start to lift. Unfortunately, the Premier has also confirmed there are no changes before Monday, with current rules to continue over the weekend. The Victorian Chamber’s view remains that any loosening of restrictions should not come at the cost of safety.

Our team at the Victorian Chamber has put together a COVID-19 Business Restart Checklist to assist members to restart activities at their business. Bringing employees back into the workplace safely is the most important aspect of getting back to work, and our checklist and advice will help you achieve this.

This week, I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas MP. In a webinar broadcast to businesses across the state, the Treasurer outlined the overall impacts of COVID-19 on business and the economy, what recovery is looking like and how the government is working with industry to reopen business and get the recovery underway quickly.

The response was sensational. A big thank you to the Treasurer for joining us and answering many of our member’s burning questions. For those of you who missed out, the replay is available to watch on our website.

We were also pleased to see the Victorian Government’s announcement that $40 million from the Business Support Fund will be used to establish the Night-time Economy Business Support Initiative - created to assist licenced venues with an individual annual turnover of up to $50 million, but who are not covered by the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme, for rent relief. For more information and to check your eligibility, click here.

On Tuesday, we welcomed an additional $491 million in relief funding announced by Treasurer Tim Pallas to remove payroll tax and WorkCover premiums for some businesses participating in the Commonwealth’s JobKeeper scheme.

Applying payroll tax on a Commonwealth support fund for employees just did not make sense. It was making it even more difficult for Victorian businesses, and we made that representation to the State Government who listened and acted.

While I’m on the topic of the restart, as we prepare, I can’t stress enough the importance of remaining safe. I highly encourage our members, including their friends and families, to download the Australian Government’s COVIDSafe app to ensure we are adequately prepared to trace and contain outbreaks of coronavirus in our community. More information can be found on our website.

On a final note, although Mother’s Day will be a little less traditional this year, I would like to wish all the mothers out there a very special day and a great week ahead.