Commercial tenancy disputes fall in first weeks after end of JobKeeper

Victoria Small Business Authority has reported a sharp decline in the number of businesses and landlords seeking help with commercial rent disputes in the two weeks since JobKeeper pulled out and lease protection.

Small Business Commissioner Judy O’Connell, who announced her resignation Tuesday after serving more than four years, said her office received 276 inquiries about commercial rent disputes after the wage subsidy and rental protection ended on March 28.

Ms. O’Connell’s office received 402 requests in the past fortnight.

Dispute resolution requests under the state government’s Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme also fell in the post-JobKeeper period, from 139 in the last two weeks of the program to just 87 in the first fourteen days after it ended.

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The numbers are among the first hard business data to become known since JobKeeper’s breakup, and were released amid fears that the end of government protection would trigger a wave of bankruptcies and evictions.

However, early data from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and credit watch agencies showed that liquidations and loan defaults are on the rise.

Ms. O’Connell, whose office received 17,000 pandemic-related inquiries and helped resolve 2,593 rental disputes, found that 86 percent of the cases she handled did not go to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunals or the courts.

The commissioner told The Age on Tuesday that disputes and calls for help are still coming into her office, but the early signs of the post-JobSeeker time are good.

“It’s very early, but it’s very encouraging that we don’t see it all of a sudden [disputes] escalate to more than we found prior to COVID, ”said Ms. O’Connell.

The commissioner said she was very pleased with the implementation of the aid program and the role her office had played during the pandemic in preventing companies from going bankrupt. “When our clerks speak to some tenants, they say that without rent relief, without that support, they would have perished, that there was no way they could have paid that rent,” said Ms. O’Connell.

“I think that was a great win for small businesses.”

Paul Guerra, executive director of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he wasn’t surprised by the numbers from the Small Business Commission. Much of the economy is coming back strong as most companies are willing to survive without government support.

“Corporations don’t want to survive on government handouts and corporations don’t stand still,” he said.

“We have seen companies adapt to the pandemic and now we have seen companies adapt to the recovery.”

Ms. O’Connell, who will retire in July, said Tuesday that during her four-year tenure, she worked hard to raise the profile of the commission, the support it offers, and advocate for the mental health of small businesses Owner.

“If you’re trying to run a business and deal with mental health, this is a real problem,” said Ms. O’Connell.

“We’ve done a lot of proactive work to ensure that small businesses are helped to be sane.”

If you or someone you know needs assistance, call Lifeline at 131 114.

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