A BACKLOG in Investor Visa (IV) and Significant Investor Visa (SIV) applications and a slowdown in processing times is frustrating the supply of urgent funding for venture capital and emerging companies to survive throughout COVID-19.

Up to 50 applications remain frozen in the final stages of approval because of travel restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Executive chairman of Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley said it follows a downward trend in approvals under the program with slow processing times impeding the delivery of urgently needed funding for venture capital and emerging companies.

Mr Hedley urged the Australian Federal Government to speed up application approvals to unlock potentially $100 million for ailing startups and emerging companies.

“There are many fledgling Australian companies that have the prospects of becoming global leaders in health, technology, agribusiness and manufacturing,” Mr Hedley said.

“These companies have faced significant headwinds in funding in recent years and are now on the verge of collapsing because of the impact of COVID-19 on venture capital funding.

“The Australian economy risks losing billions of dollars, along with a decline in employment and intellectual property if this state of play continues.”

Mr Hedley said while application approval numbers had been decreasing in recent years, the processing time of applications had increased significantly.

“It used to take between six to nine months, in line with the program’s target timeframes, for visas to be processed,” Mr Hedley said. “It now takes up to two years for an outcome.”

“This is also up considerably from processing times of between eight and 12 weeks, five years ago."

In that time, the number of primary visas granted has declined. Approved applications fell to 98 in the six months between July to December 2019 from 191 in the previous corresponding period of July, 2018 to June, 2019.

In 2015, when applications were processed at their fastest, there were 879 approved.

“Fast-tracking approval for these applications could help innovative young Australian companies thrive through a period of uncertainty and high volatility,” Mr Hedley said.

About Atlas Advisors Australia

Atlas Advisors Australia is a funds manager and investment advisory business, operating between China and Australia offering a wide range of financial services and wealth management solutions. With operations in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Shanghai in China, it is able to support investors in all China and Australia locations.

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BUILDERS and tradies are facing an imminent crisis with most set to run out of new work in the next few months according to a survey on the impact of Covid-19 released today.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said the results were alarming. About 73 percent of respondents reported a substantial fall in forward work on their books, with 40 percent being lost on average.

“While projects that commenced prior to the onset of the Covid-19 crisis are providing short term work for many, for the overwhelming majority of our 32,000 members new orders have fallen off a cliff,” Ms Wawn said.

“The situation is dangerous. At risk is the viability of nearly 400,000 building and construction businesses, the jobs of 1.2 million Australians and the industry’s capacity to aid the economic recovery,” she said.

“The home building sector is being hit especially hard. Confusion about how domestic building activity fits in with government safety rules combined with job losses and business closures is having a devastating impact on demand for new residential building activity.

“So, while we strongly back the current measures to support businesses and jobs, we are calling on all governments to urgently rollout new stimulus measures that will immediately kick-start building activity,” Ms Wawn said.

“Increasing the size of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and expanding its eligibility to include anyone wanting to purchase only new homes while maintaining the current price and income caps is just one of a range of measures we have proposed to the Federal Government,” she said.

“The nation’s commercial and civil construction contractors also urgently need a forward pipeline of work. Our calls for governments at all levels to accelerate the construction of social, defence and transport infrastructure projects will continue to be relentless.

“Our message to governments, is that we understand the enormity of the challenge they face but that these stimulus measures cannot wait. If urgent action is not taken our industry’s role in the economic recovery will be severely blunted,” Ms Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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CONFIRMATION the $10 billion Arrow Energys Surat Gas Project, in the State’s south-west, will proceed into the first phase of development is a major boost in Queensland’s economic recovery for COVID-19.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the announcement today the project between Dalby and Wandoan would proceed was “good news when Queensland needed it most”.

“The loss of jobs across Queensland in the COVID-19 response has been devastating," he said.

“The resources sector has been at the forefront of slowing the spread of COVID-19. Our coal, metals and petroleum companies have been continuing to operate, invest, employ and export on behalf of all Queenslanders.

“The Arrow announcement is a long-term commitment and it could not have come at a better time for Queensland.”

The first phase of the project would create 200-plus construction jobs, and provide additional business opportunities for local suppliers.  The project, over all phases to 2046, would create up to 800 construction jobs and 200 permanent, operations jobs.

Mr Macfarlane said prior to COVID-19, the resources sector supported one in seven jobs in the Queensland workforce – or more than 372,000 jobs.

“The majority of companies are either maintaining their employment levels or anticipating a slight increase," Mr Macfarlane said.

"Indeed, there are currently about 800 jobs in the Queensland resources, mining and energy sector advertised online with Seek.”

www.qrc.org.au

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TODAY the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has registered a legislative instrument, along with an explanatory statement, on the Federal Register of Legislation, that extends the services and advice BAS agents can legally provide on the Australian Government’s COVID-19 stimulus package.

BAS agents can now legally support Australian businesses by advising about their entitlements under the new JobKeeper Payment and Cashflow support for business initiatives.

TPB chair, Ian Klug said the legislative instrument makes it clear that BAS agents can lawfully advise on the JobKeeper Payments and on the Cashflow support for business.

"This reflects a sensible and appropriate outcome to support the Government’s initiatives," Mr Klug said.

"The TPB is working to support the extraordinary efforts of all registered tax practitioners acting professionally and ethically to assist Australian workers and businesses, especially in understanding these stimulus entitlements."

Mr Klug said the issuing of the legislative instrument provides a timely reminder to all Australians who use a tax practitioner, to ensure that they are registered with the TPB.

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