Overview
- The government, which announced the package Wednesday, set up ATO tax relief, a small-business help channel, a 10-year extension of a lending exemption, and short-term bank support.
- The ATO will offer payment plans, waive interest and penalties, adjust pay-as-you-go instalments, and may pause some compliance and debt collection in hard-hit sectors.
- The responsible-lending exemption for small-business loans, first introduced in 2020 to speed credit, will run for 10 more years to keep cash flowing.
- Major banks formed specialist teams to arrange payment deferrals, loan restructures or temporary credit increases for customers under strain.
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers called the Strait of Hormuz disruption a significant economic shock and said a recession is possible as Treasury models scenarios.