An innovative Australian digital marketing firm is bringing together information on the various Federal and State Government Covid-19 stimulus packages in one convenient, easy-to-use website.

Developed by the creative minds at Increaseo, the Stimulus Package website aims to raise individual and business awareness of the various support packages offered by various government around Australia to help navigate these tough times.

Based at Erina on the Central Coast, Increaseo employs a team of ten digital specialists in web development, design, digital marketing, photography and SEO services. In the middle of March, the firm’s founder and managing director Troy Roennfeldt, who was determined to navigate the uncharted waters created by COVID-19 noticed the Northern Territory Government had announced as part of its support package, $5 million for businesses to assist them to go online.

“This got me thinking about the myriad of stimulus packages, and I started searching around. However, I couldn’t find any single spot online where all the information was parked for businesses such as mine.”

At the same time, Troy quickly realised that www.stimuluspackage.com.au wasn’t registered. “I couldn’t quite believe it and asked myself, did I spell ‘stimulus package’ right.” The digital marketing whiz quickly purchased the domain name.

Empowered by his idea, Troy workshopped some ideas about the website with his team the next day, who then collectively went into overdrive to build the website. “We have a French-based developer who lived on the Central Coast previously working overnight on the site and we’d pick up the project during the day.”

Troy and the Increaso team are still finetuning the site and working on the content but have started rolling out the material about the many Federal, state and local council packages for businesses and individuals announced this month.

He continued, “We lost a few projects due to Covid-19 and decided that we have all the resources in house and time to take on the website. So, the consensus was, let’s do it.” 

We see this project as a service to individual and businesses doing it tough through this unprecedented crisis. At the same time, longer-term it might help us generate some new business and keep our team together. Already, Troy reports a few new jobs have started to filter through. 

Increaseo has a close relationship with Brad Rogers at Commercial Erina, recently announced among our firm’s best sales agents in NSW in 2020, who has continued to deliver excellent service during these challenging times for SMEs. “Brad even came to our office, and we stood at a socially responsible distance for our meeting,” Troy confirmed.

Looking ahead, the Increaseo MD predicts some businesses will probably seek ways to reduce headcount in offices. “Yet, this may not affect demand for commercial space as businesses will need to maintain larger distances between desks or workspaces for those who still need to work inhouse.”

As for the current round of stimulus offers from the Government Troy said his firm will take advantage of the cashback on PAYG withholding tax. Eligible small and medium employers will be provided with a 100% tax-free ‘cashback’ of up to $50,000 (and a minimum of $10,000) on their PAYG withholding on wages between January 1 and June 30, 2020.

Also, eligible SMEs will receive a second tax-free, cashback payment of up to $50,000 (and a minimum of $10,000) on their PAYG withholding on wages for the period June 30 to September 30, 2020. “This relief is awesome and will help us carry through,” Troy said.

“We’d also like to see Government consider some relief for those paying commercial leases. We’re ok. However, there is a lot of business that need this support.”

Troy said some incentives for businesses to improve their online capabilities to help maintain social distancing protocols would also be helpful.

For more advice whether you’re a commercial owner-occupier, investor or tenant trying to navigate COVID-19, contact your local Raine & Horne Commercial office today.