The NSW Government has announced a $200 million support package for the Not-for-Profit (NFP) sector to help organisations faced with the financial impacts of the current restrictions.

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the NSW Government recognised many NFPs, which provide such vital support for the most vulnerable members of our community, were in need of more support themselves in this lockdown.

“NFPs in the social support and animal welfare sectors are in more demand than ever as we battle this Delta outbreak and this package will support those doing so much of the heavy lifting to help vulnerable communities in this pandemic,” Mr Perrottet said.

The funding initiative comes on top of the more than $5.1 billion, including $1 billion in Commonwealth support, announced by the NSW Government since the end of June.

“We’re continuously monitoring the impacts of this outbreak to see what adjustments or additional measures are needed,” Mr Perrottet said.

“Some NFPs did not meet the 30 per cent turnover threshold required for JobSaver so we’ve reduced that to 15 per cent for social support and animal welfare sectors, to ensure they can continue delivering the same level of service to those most in need.”

“We’ve also set up a $50 million Social Sector Support Fund to support vulnerable people and provide these NFPs with another avenue for financial assistance where they are experiencing increased demand for their services.”

The support package targets those NFPs providing social support and animal welfare with Service NSW and the Department of Communities and Justice to process applications from next month.

The Social Sector Support Fund will provide grants and direct payments to eligible NFPs and provide a Workforce Surge Payment to support social sector organisations to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks where staff have been furloughed.  

Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Alister Henskens said the targeted support package includes measures designed to provide direct relief to organisations financially impacted by the pandemic.

“This support package is multilayered in recognition of the diversity of our social services organisations which are working tirelessly to support the most vulnerable people in our community during this challenging time,” Mr Henskens said.

“This investment will deliver targeted financial support to organisations to help ensure the continuity of the important services they provide to those most in need.”

Further details will become available in the coming weeks.