Algal Bloom Fisheries and Aquaculture Assistance Grant

Businesses may apply for additional employee retention assistance of up to $50,000 (GST exclusive) depending on your number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, to help you retain existing employees and cover their wages. This can be calculated through a combination of full-time, part-time, or casual employees.

This assistance is available across two payments of up to $25,000 each, in conjunction with the second and third grant payments.

Grant applicants are asked to demonstrate business impact by showing an eligible impact in that period (i.e., it might be a decline in catch/harvest of 30 per cent or more, or a similar reduction in business turnover).

You can choose any consecutive 3-month period from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2026, and compare it with the corresponding 3-month period in the previous year.

For example, if turnover is measured from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025, the comparative period would be 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.

For the second and third payments, the impact period must be different (or subsequent) and cannot overlap with the dates used in your previous payments.

When completing this application, you'll be asked to provide (for the relevant periods):

• lodged business activity statements (BAS). If not available, copies of income statements/financials validated by a registered tax agent.

• a copy of lodged tax return(s), or copies of income statements/financials validated by a registered tax agent, showing business turnover.

• a copy of the business’ bank statement.

• catch/harvest returns.

• Certificate of Currency for any general business insurance policy and income protection policy.

• signed statement declaring an ability and intent to continue to operate beyond the Algal Bloom event.

You may be required to provide additional or alternative evidence based on your unique business situation, or as requested by South Australian Government grant assessors as part of the application process.

If applying for a second or third payment, you won’t need to resubmit proof of identity documents.

View the full grant guidelines for more information.

Prior to commencing your application, please ensure you read the full grant guidelines and gather the necessary evidence. Full details around eligibility and evidence required are available for download in the Program Guidelines.

If your business continues to be impacted by the algal bloom and you have experienced an eligible business impact such as a 30% decline in turnover or catch over another new three-month period, you may be eligible for a second and third grant payment.

The second and third grant payment may include up to $100,000 to meet fixed costs and overheads - including utilities, rent, finance and interest payments – and up to $50,000 to support employee wages.

To complete your application, you’ll need to provide evidence of that impact in another or different three-month period – for example, your catch/harvest returns, or lodged Business Activity Statement (BAS) showing a decline in turnover over additional separate three-month periods between 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2026. You will also be required to provide information relating to the number of employees employed by your business.

Once your first payment is approved and you meet the criteria for continued impact, you’ll be able to apply for additional payments.

If you are ready to apply for a second or third payment, log in to the application portal to complete an additional grant payment form. You may be notified by email when the form is ready to be accessed.

If you have a question about the Algal Bloom Resilience Grant program, read through the Frequently Asked Questions or contact the Office for Small and Family Business.

Applications for this program are now open, and can be submitted via the online form below.

Please review the Program Guidelines to ensure you have all the evidence required prior to starting your application.