More than a thousand Canberra businesses have been surveyed about the ACT Government’s COVID-19 Business Support Grants (BSGS) and Small Business Hardship Scheme (SBHS), introduced during last year’s lockdown to financially support businesses affected by public health measures.
While the government says the responses have been overwhelmingly positive, other community business representatives claim the survey is simply a public relations exercise.
“It just comes across as the government trying to make themselves look good,” said Tom Adam, president of the Phillip Business Community.
The grants were the largest-ever program the ACT Government delivered, a government spokesperson said. More than 11,000 businesses received BSGs (worth $15,000 to $100,000, for businesses whose turnover declined by more than 30 per cent); and more than 2,500 were reimbursed under the SBHS (credits of up to $10,000 per operator for tax, utility charges, rates, fees, and charges).
In total, businesses affected by the lockdown and public health safety measures in 2021 received more than $340 million in government support.
- Business support grants doubled (1 September 2021)
- Thousands of ACT small businesses eligible for grants, loans (25 August 2021)
But business leaders complained at the time that the government supports were slow and difficult to access, and could have been implemented faster. Six weeks into lockdown, only two businesses had been approved for the scheme, they said.
- ACT business grants labelled ‘slow and difficult’ (16 October 2021)
- Businesses urge government to continue financial support (30 September 2021)
- Business grants hard to access, slow to arrive (16 September 2021)
- Canberra businesses are bleeding money, says local leader (2 September 2021)
- Local businesses vexed by delays in government support (26 August 2021)
Now, the ACT Government has engaged Grosvenor Public Sector Advisory, a business management consulting firm, to conduct an external evaluation of the two programs, due to be completed by the end of the year. The survey states it is designed to understand businesses’ experience as an applicant, focusing on how the programs were delivered, and their impact on local businesses.
“It is important that we undertake this evaluation to look at the effectiveness and efficiency of the programs and how well they met their intended outcomes,” a government spokesperson said.
“The evaluation will help inform future grants programs and identify lessons that can be learnt from the delivery of this unprecedented grants program for the ACT Government.”
Grosvenor’s evaluation team consulted business and industry stakeholders (including the Canberra Business Chamber, the Australian Hotels Association ACT, the Master Builders Association, the Property Council of Australia, peak accountancy groups, the Canberra Region Tourism Leaders Forum, traders and precinct organisations); grant applicants; delivery partners; and ACT Government staff, through focus groups, one-on-one meetings, and surveys of applicants, a government spokesperson said.
Mr Adam received the SBHS feedback survey, and was interviewed by a contractor working for the ACT Government.
Among other questions, the survey asks respondents to rate their agreement with statements about the administration and management of the two programs: “The [BSG] program adapted well to changing public health measures.” “The ACT Government communicated appropriately about the [BSG / SBHS] program and changes to the program.” “I understood what costs could be reimbursed [from the SBHS Program].”
The survey also asks respondents how much they agree with statements about the programs’ impacts on their business:
- “The BSG program had a positive impact on the business.”
- “The BSG program helped to reduce economic hardship as a result of the public health measures.” So far, 90.5 per cent of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed.
- “Receiving [BSG] grant payments made it easier to resume business operations as public health measures eased.” So far, 86.3 per cent of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed.
- “The SBHS program had a positive impact on the business.”
- “The SBHS program helped to reduce economic hardship as a result of the public health measures.” So far, 85.6 per cent of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.
- “[SBHS] Funding helped the business to resume operations sooner than otherwise achievable without the program.” So far, 75.4 per cent of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.
Final analysis and reporting are still underway. As of Friday afternoon, 1,104 survey responses had been received.
But Mr Adam is sceptical.
“All of these [questions], are they rhetorical?” he asked. “As a small business owner and a local business community representative, I find that these questions only serve to suit their agenda, and do not address the realities that many businesses face.”
A government spokesperson said the questions in the survey were designed by Grosvenor with input from the ACT Government. The survey was only one of a number of methods to seek feedback; others included in-depth conversations with stakeholders and applicants about their experiences.
Mr Adam believes the survey should have asked: “Did the SBHS program provide adequate funding to sustain / hibernate your business during the public health measures? Did your business continue to face economic hardship despite receiving SBHS funding? Was your business able to operate at normal capacity after the SBHS program ceased funding?”
“There has been zero acknowledgement that the insufficient funding ruined a lot of people’s lives, and that the majority of funds ended up going back to the ATO anyway from this government,” Mr Adam said.
Within a fortnight of the lockdown beginning, some 10,000 ACT businesses had lost at least 30 per cent of their turnover, the ACT Government estimated last year. Several businesses shut up shop during the lockdown, including the Sfoglia café in Dickson and the Polo Restaurant at the Polish White Eagle Club.
- COVID leaves Canberra businesses ‘critical’ (27 August 2021)
That seems to have been part of a pattern of closures during the pandemic. While more than 5,000 businesses started in the ACT in the 2020–21 financial year, almost 3,000 closed – “Potentially a lot of unnecessary closures and a huge amount of lost money, energy, and jobs,” Canberra Business Chamber CEO Graham Catt said earlier this year.
“Honestly, I think there has been a total lack of review into how businesses were impacted, and if enough was done,” Mr Adam said. “Their desperate desire to ignore it and move on just shows that they don’t care about business.”
A government spokesperson said the ACT Legislative Assembly conducted an Inquiry into the 2021 COVID-19 response last year, and this evaluation addresses recommendation 10 of the report: “The Committee recommends that the ACT Government undertake a full review of the rollout of the Business Support Grant and the Small Business Hardship Scheme in consultation with local businesses and present the findings of its review to the Assembly by the end of 2022.”
A research project underway with the University of Canberra about workforce shortages, the spokesperson said, considers the impact of COVID on industry sectors and the workforce issues they are experiencing, such as acute workforce and skills shortages. Ahead of the Federal Government’s national skills summit in September, UC and the ACT Government conducted an online survey; at the time, Canberra had 5,000 more job vacancies than unemployed people.
- Business survey aims to solve Canberra’s workplace shortage (12 August)
- When falling unemployment keeps us awake at night (22 July)
The ACT Government is developing industry action plans under the Skilled to Succeed strategy to improve the vocational, education and training system to meet the needs of industry now and in the future, the spokesperson said.
“Since the onset of the pandemic, our public health response and economic decisions have kept the economy growing, kept more people in work, and avoided the long-term debilitating impacts of a recession,” the spokesperson said.
“These policies worked. The Territory economy continued to grow, and is now 6.5 per cent larger than pre-pandemic. The ACT has recorded 32 years of consecutive economic growth. This record-run of growth is anticipated to continue over the next few years.”
