Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery yesterday announced the Worldskills Australia National Championships will be postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for August 2020, the Championships are Australia's largest vocational education and training competition, attracting more than 500 competitors and 20,000 visitors. Competitors currently preparing for the 2020 championships, will be able to compete in 2021. The 2021 Worldskills National Championships will be held from April 29 to May 1, 2021 at the Perth Exhibition and Convention Centre. This is the third time Western Australia has hosted the event with the last National Championships being held in Perth in 2014. For further information about WorldSkills Australia visit https://www.worldskills.org.au/ or for information on WorldSkills Western Australia visit http://www.dtwd.wa.gov.au/worldskills-wa The State Government and Lotterywest have established a $159 million COVID-19 relief fund to provide support to organisations that are helping people experiencing hardship. An initial $59 million will be available for crisis and emergency relief support for eligible not‑for-profit and community organisations. This includes urgent financial relief for not-for-profit sports, arts and community organisations experiencing hardship as a result of cancelled events. It will compensate for cancellation costs, lost revenue and incurred or committed operational costs associated with the cancelled event. Often these events were crucial to the ongoing operations of important community organisations. Lotterywest will now allocate all profits previously assigned to the grants budget, anticipated to be about $100 million, directly into the newly created fund to assist the Western Australian community to recover. Eligible not-for-profit organisations and community groups can apply immediately for grant support by visiting http://www.lotterywest.wa.gov.au/grants or by calling 133 777. Read more In response to the current crisis facing the Western Australian screen industry triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Screenwest has announced a two-and-a-half million-dollar sustainability package, funded by repurposing existing funding provided by the State Government of Western Australia through Lotterywest. With almost all screen production put on hold for the foreseeable future, the package will be delivered in addition to funding already committed to current projects. This funding support package is focused on screen practitioners’ activities over the next six months in particular, and has been designed in response to industry feedback. Key elements of the package to be launched with immediate effect include:
State Government COVID-19 relief package includes $502 million for small and medium-sized businesses1/4/2020
The State Government has unveiled a $1 billion economic and health relief package including $502 million to support Western Australian businesses. The package builds on the $25 million rent relief package for businesses operating on government-owned premises announced earlier this week.
It also comes on top of the $607 million in relief and stimulus measures announced earlier in March, and the Government continues to roll out the $760 million in economic stimulus measures announced in late 2019. The small and medium-sized business assistance initiatives include:
The Federal Government has announced a $130 billion JobKeeper payment to help keep more Australians in jobs and support businesses affected by the significant economic impact caused by the Coronavirus. Around 6 million workers will receive a fortnightly payment of $1,500 (before tax) through their employer. The payment ensures eligible employers remain connected to their workforce and will help businesses restart quickly when the crisis is over. Read more Download Factsheet Australia Council announces new Resilience Fund and re-opens Arts and Disability Mentorships1/4/2020
On 31 March The Australia Council announced a Resilience Fund of approximately $5M for artists and arts organisations to support their livelihoods, practice and operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Adrian Collette AM said this new measure within the Council’s existing budget is essential during this critical period when the cultural and creative sectors are experiencing immediate and enormous challenges due to the impact of the virus. In the last week the Council also reviewed all suspended programs and has re-opened applications for the Arts and Disability Mentoring Initiative, extending the deadline for applications to midnight AEST, Tuesday 14 April. This is a significant priority area for the Council.” Read more |
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