The Australian Government is providing further support to small businesses and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by extending the SME Recover Loan Scheme by a further six months to 30 June 2022.
Around 80,000 loans worth approximately $7.3 billion have been written to date since the scheme commenced in March 2020.
The extension of the scheme will help even more businesses get access to the funding they need to adapt, innovate and bounce back from the impacts of the pandemic.
As with the existing scheme, SMEs who are dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-19 with a turnover of less than $250 million will be able to access loans of up to $5 million over a term of up to 10 years.
With the economy showing signs of a strong rebound as restrictions ease, the Government will reduce its loan guarantee from 80 per cent to 50 per cent, helping drive a private sector-led recovery.
Other key features of the SME Recovery Loan Scheme include:
- Lenders can offer borrowers a repayment holiday of up to 24
- Loans can be used for a broad range of business purposes, including to support
- Loans may be used to refinance any pre-existing debt of an eligible
- Loans can be either unsecured or secured (excluding residential property).
Eligible businesses
The scheme is open to small and medium sized businesses with up to $250 million turnover, including self-employed and non-profits. So far, the Scheme has been open to eligible SMEs that were:
- the recipient of a JobKeeper payment between 4 January 2021 and 28 March 2021.
Note: a JobKeeper Scheme-Backed Loan can only be approved under this eligibility prior to the Scheme Expansion date (1 October 2021); - affected by the floods in eligible Local Government Areas in March 2021; or
- adversely economically affected by COVID‑19. Note: a Covid Scheme-Backed Loan can be approved under this eligibility from the Scheme Expansion Date (1 October 2021).
Applying for a loan
Loans backed by the Scheme will be available through participating commercial lenders. The decisions to extend credit, and management of the loan, remain with the lender.
Borrowers can access credit under the Scheme through approved participating lenders.
For more information on how to apply, visit Information for SMEs.