TOURISM AVIATION NETWORK SUPPORT
- To run from 1 April to 31 July
- Increased number of flights to an initial 13 regions (the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island
- 50 per cent discount on domestic fares – travel to and from the locations will be subsidised
- The chosen regions/routes are based on being reliant on tourism for Gross Domestic Product and particularly dependent on aviation for tourism during April to July
- Demand driven number of tickets, and locations the flights will depart from, but estimated average of 46,000 discounted fares per week
- To snap up one of the government's half-price tickets, simply jump online to your airline’s website from 1 April and reserve your seat. (It’ll be any air operator who has operated the routes (and any other we may come up with in the near future) in the previous 2 years - by in large it will be Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar and a handful of other small regional operators who may wish to opt in)
Indicative flight routes (may change depending on final negotiations with airlines and expected demand):
| Gold Coast (Queensland) Adelaide – Gold Coast Melbourne – Gold Coast Sydney – Gold Coast Canberra – Gold Coast Avalon – Gold Coast |
Launceston, Devonport and Burnie (Tasmania) Melbourne – Launceston Sydney – Launceston Brisbane – Launceston Melbourne – Devonport Melbourne – Burnie |
| Tropical North Queensland (Queensland) Melbourne – Cairns Sydney – Cairns Darwin – Cairns |
Broome (Western Australia) Darwin – Broome Sydney – Broome Melbourne – Broome |
| Whitsundays and Mackay region (Queensland) Sydney – Proserpine Sydney – Hamilton Island |
Avalon (Victoria) Gold Coast – Avalon Sydney – Avalon |
| Sunshine Coast (Queensland) Sydney – Maroochydore Melbourne – Maroochydore Adelaide – Maroochydore |
Merimbula (New South Wales) Melbourne – Merimbula |
| Lasseter and Alice Springs (Northern Territory) Adelaide – Alice Springs Sydney – Ayers Rock Brisbane – Alice Springs Melbourne – Alice Springs Perth – Alice Springs Sydney – Alice Springs Brisbane – Ayers Rock Melbourne – Ayers Rock |
Kangaroo Island (South Australia) Adelaide – Kingscote |
SME RECOVERY LOAN SCHEME
- Loans must be approved between 1 April 2021 and 31 December 2021
- Up to $5m 10 year loans with 24 month repayment holidays eligible to businesses that have been on JobKeeper between 4 January and 28 March
- An eligible loan under the Scheme can take any form of credit (including overdrafts, working capital and revolving facilities, leases or hire-purchase arrangements), with the exception of a credit, debit, charge card or business card facility. Loans may be used to refinance any pre-existing debt of an eligible borrower.
- Part of the Government’s commitment to support up to $40b in lending to SMEs
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SUPPORT
- Financial support from 1 April to 31 October (when international flights are expected to resume)
- Support will help airlines to maintain an agreed core international capability (crew and aircraft) based on pre-COVID international passenger services
- The support will keep 8600 international aviation employees in work and ready to be deployed, as well as planes in flight-ready condition across both airlines and is proportionate to the level of pre-COVID international passenger services ran by each airline, excluding the Trans-Tasman route
- As a condition of receiving support, each month Qantas and Virgin will be required to provide an assurance to government that it will maintain a set level of international flight readiness.
AVIATION SERVICES ACCREDITATION SUPPORT PROGRAM
- To run from 29 March to 30 September
- Cover the cost of ground handlers maintaining their mandatory training, certification, and accreditation
- Expectation that it will cover 30 per cent of ground handling companies pre-COVID workforce. Means they’re ready to stand back up when the market expands again
DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL AVIATION NETWORK SUPPORTS
- From 29 March to 30 September
- To support a range of key routes to ensure passenger and freight/cargo movement
- See map halfway down page for routes - https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/
DOMESTIC AIRPORTS SECURITY CHARGES SUPPORT
- From 29 March to 30 September
- Waiving aviation security charges
AIRSERVICES FEE WAIVER
- From 1 April to 30 September
- Waiving Airservices Australia charges on domestic airline operations
INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT ASSISTANCE MECHANISM
- To run for a further three months to 30 September
- Ensuring we have flights that can export Australian goods to overseas markets
BUSINESS EVENTS GRANTS PROGRAM
- Extended by three months
- Covering up to 50 per cent of costs incurred in participating business events during the 2021 calendar year
ZOOS AND AQUARIUM PROGRAM
- Extended by six months
- Support zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks to maintain their animal populations where their tourism revenue has been affected by travel and social distancing restrictions
CONSUMER TRAVEL SUPPORT PROGRAM
- To run for a further three months beyond 13 March
- One-off grants to help travel agents and tour arrangement service providers stay viable
