Native Forest Transition: Closure of Impacted Business grants

Eligibility criteria

Applicants are required to meet the following criteria to be eligible:

• Must be a Western Australian business operating within the native forestry industry for at least 3 years prior to, and at the time of the announcement on 8 September 2021.
• Business must have a valid and active ABN or ACN and not have any pending litigations or insolvency processes underway.
• Business must be able to demonstrate a 50% or greater reliance on the native timber industry over at least one financial year from 2019/2020 to 2021/2022, with at least either:
  • 50% of inputs used in manufacturing processes be from native timber
  • 50% of business revenue derived from the sale of goods or services from the native timber industry.
• Must be the only business held by the business owners/directors. Where business owners/ directors hold additional ABN or ACN numbers, applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure the majority of their income (i.e. 50%) is derived from the eligible business.
• Must be registered for GST with a minimum turnover of $75,000.
• Must not have received funding through any other Native Forest Transition grant program.

Ineligible organisations

The following organisations are ineligible for funding:

• Local, State, or Federal Government Authorities/Agencies, Government Trading Enterprises (GTEs) and Individuals (without an ABN).
• Trusts that are not incorporated and are unable to enter into a funding agreement with the State Government. (A trustee may apply on behalf of a trust where it meets the eligibility requirements set out above).
• Businesses that have been successful in receiving funding from another Native Forest Transition grant.
• Businesses located outside of Western Australia.

Ineligible activities

The following activities are ineligible:

• Payments of company debts or any accrued payments owed to owners
• Staff redundancy and leave liability payments
• Payments of tax and statutory payments
• Purchase of dividends or other distributions of equity to owners
• Reimbursement for depreciation of assets
• Purchase of land, assets or inventory
• Salaries/employment of new or existing staff
• Advertising and office upkeep.

Eligible businesses must apply through the SmartyGrants portal.

Apply

Stage 1
Submission online via SmartyGrants to access an initial $5,000 payment.

• Businesses facing hardship from the decision with a substantial reliance on native timber.
• Businesses must:
  • Provide business details including ABN or ACN, listed owners/directors and contact details.
  • Confirm 50% reliance
  • Confirm operating at the time of the announcement and for at least 3 years prior
  • Provide financial statements for the 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 periods
  • Detail the eligible activities you propose for the Stage 1 funding.

Stage 2.
Submission of receipts for reimbursement via SmartyGrants to access up to $45,000.

• Only successful applicants from Stage 1 are eligible for Stage 2.
• Eligible applicants will be invited to apply for Stage 2.
• To receive reimbursements in Stage 2, applicants must submit receipts for approved eligible activities.

A review of applications will take place to confirm eligibility. If an applicant is successful, an agreement letter is signed by both parties.

Businesses must ensure that the information listed with the Australian Business Register (ABR) as part of their ABN registration is current and accurate at the time of application.

Without limiting the assessment carried out by Department of Jobs Tourism Science and Innovation, the following circumstances may be taken into consideration in any decision whether to award funding:

• Duplicate applications by a director, trustee or trust.
• Misleading amendments to information provided to public registers describing the business or any authorised officer of the business.
• Any adverse findings by a government agency or local council regarding a business or its operation.
• A business is, or notice has been given that it will be, placed under external administration.
• There is a petition for bankruptcy or to wind up or deregister a company or business.

Applications will be carefully considered and assessed against the eligibility criteria. The State may, in its absolute discretion, determine: 

• Whether the type of business of an applicant is eligible for the grant; or 
• Whether the use of native timber is material to the business of the applicant. 

The State’s decision about eligibility for a grant is final.

JTSI may request further information or clarification to assist with assessment of the application. The WA Government reserves, in its absolute discretion, the right to refuse the application where eligibility criteria are not met, or where the applicant does not or cannot provide sufficient information in the required time frame to assess whether eligibility criteria have been met, or where a claim cannot be supported.

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a letter of agreement with JTSI.

Payments will be made electronically into the business applicant’s nominated Australian bank account.