Justice Connect is working on a range of initiatives to respond to emerging needs related to COVID-19. We’re providing legal help to people and community organisations affected by the pandemic. 

Organisations are facing new challanges. We're ramping up our support for organisations affected by the pandemic. 

We have prepared a briefing paper which gives guidance to community organisations on some of the most pressing issues raised by COVID-19, including employment, contracts and insurance.

We had assistance from Clayton Utz to prepare this brief. You can access Clayton Utz’s COVID-19 Response Briefing Note here

Government support

Keep up to date with the Federal Government's economic response to COVID-19.  State government economic responses are also emerging - follow developments in Victoria and New South Wales.

Financial advisor Grant Thornton has published commentary on these economic measures. 

Federal Government support

The following measures are relevant to not-for-profits, including charities: 

• 30 March 2020 - the Federal Government announced measures to support employees, including a JobKeeper payment. The JobKeeper payment helps businesses (including charities and not-for-profits) significantly impacted by the Coronavirus cover the costs of their employees’ wages, so more Australians can retain their jobs and continue to earn an income. Read more about the the JobKeeper payment here.
• 12 March 2020 - the Government announced the 'Boosting Cash Flow for Employers measure'. Read more about the cash flow support here.

These measures will be administered by the Australian Taxation Office. View the full list of COVID-19 support measures on the ATO website. The ATO has also published a list of FAQs for taxpayers. 

Top issues

The top issues facing not-for-profit organisations include cancelling events, managing contractual obligations, holding meetings and navigating employment challenges. We are developing resources in response to these issues, including fact sheets and webinars. You can access these resources through this page.  

You can also access our complete library of free resources on these subjects here: 

• Running the organisation
• The people involved
• Seeking funds and holding events
• Important agreements
• Insurance and risk