Whyalla Support Package frequently asked questions

Whyalla-based businesses impacted by the Whyalla Steelworks' challenges and administration may be eligible to have their state taxes deferred with no interest or penalty tax applied.

Taxes that can be deferred include payroll tax, land tax and the emergency services levy. RevenueSA will work with impacted businesses to arrange to defer any taxes or levies due.

To apply for a deferral email payrolltaxenquiries@sa.gov.au using the subject line: 'Application to defer taxes/levies due'.

In your email please include:

• your taxpayer or owner number
• amount you wish to defer (if known)
• summary of how your business is impacted by the administration of the Whyalla Steelworks.

Taxation officers will provide confirmation of approved deferred payment via email which will also outline the conditions of the deferral.

This payment was designed to support South Australian and Whyalla-based businesses owed one or more eligible debts (creditors) by OneSteel as at the date it was placed into administration (19 February 2025).

Recipients must also:

• be a legal entity established in Australia
• hold an active Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be registered for GST
• not be an excluded entity under the Scheme guidelines

This support was available for businesses based in the City of Whyalla, as well as other eligible South Australian-based creditors.

The South Australian Government facilitated grant payments to eligible applicants of up to $5 million per employer group, or total value of the eligible debt owed, whichever is lesser.

Applicants will not receive 'double-compensation'. Any dividends payable through or arising from the OneSteel administration process were assigned to Government as a condition of any grant payment.

The SA Business Creditor Assistance Scheme was designed to streamline payments to impacted businesses, while not interfering with the administration process underway.

All grants were conditional upon the applicant:

• registering as a creditor and participating in the administration process, including submitting proof of debt to the administrator (KordaMentha)
• not being double-compensated in respect of the eligible debt
• formally assigning to the Government the benefit to any dividend or other proceeds payable to the applicant out of the assets of the company, in the applicant’s capacity as creditor
• confirming their intention to continue to operate during the administration process and further committing to making payment of the debts that they owe to their subcontractors.

Not necessarily. Payment made by the South Australian Government is a grant calculated according to eligible debts owed by OneSteel or its entities. It is not payment of invoices owed and does not ‘resolve’ the debt.

Invoices and debt will be considered resolved once the administration process is finalised.

As part of the South Australian Business Creditor Assistance Scheme grant agreement, recipients commit to reassigning any proceeds received through the administration process to the South Australian Government.

We recommend that you contact an accountant if you require advice on how debt owed and/or the grant payment may affect your tax, invoicing, and other business accounting.

To be eligible for this grant, businesses must have had an Australia-wide grouped payroll of less than $1.5 million in 2023-24.

This grant supported South Australian businesses conducting business operations - and with their principal place of business registered at a premises - within the City of Whyalla as at 1 February 2025.

To be eligible for this grant, applicants must have demonstrated a decline in revenue of of 20 per cent or more in any consecutive 3-month period between 19 May 2024 to 31 March 2025 when compared to the same 3-month period in the preceding year.

The application form asked for evidence including BAS statements, a bank statement, and Certificate of Currency for a business insurance policy.

This funding may be used to meet most business costs, including utilities, salaries and rent. Recipients may also use this grant to:

• Seek financial advice

• Adjust the business to be viable in the changed local context

• Develop the business and extend reach through marketing and communications activities

• Retain and support existing employees.

Delivered by RDA Eyre Peninsula (RDAEP) in partnership with Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA), the Career Transition Service provides eligible workers with access to professional and personalised career counselling.

A Career Practitioner can help with job search and resume advice, provide information on employment opportunities in the region, and links to other support organisations.

They’ll also work with participants to develop a tailored and individualised career transition plan – identifying the fee-free vocational education and training participants can undertake to support their transition to new employment.

Training subsidised by the South Australian Government through this initiative may include:

• vocational education and training qualifications as listed on the Subsidised Training List
• vocational education and training occupational tickets and high-risk licences (e.g. forklift, first aid, confined space).

The following activities will not be funded:

• accredited training under Training Contract arrangements
• qualifications not available on the subsidised training list
• higher education qualifications
• purchase of tools and equipment or PPE clothing
• industry licences and clearance (e.g. police clearances, security licences)
• travel or accommodation
• wage subsidies.

Free training opportunities are available to workers and contractors from the Whyalla steelworks and its supply chain who have been impacted by loss of work from 1 May 2024.

To access these free training opportunities, impacted workers must:

• live in South Australia
• be over 16 years of age
• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, a permanent Australian resident or eligible visa holder.

Workers who do not meet the criteria above may be able to access assistance from other support organisations. The Career Practitioner can help you identify these opportunities.

1. Complete the Registration Form available from the Career Transition Service. Registration is not an approval to enrol in training.
2. Once you have met with a Career Practitioner, and identified what training you are seeking to undertake, they can help you to identify a training organisation and gain approval. This training must be linked to your career transition plan. Pre-approval to undertake training is mandatory (i.e. before you enrol with the training organisation). Training which has already been completed or paid for cannot be reimbursed.
3. If approved, you and the training organisation will receive an email from the Career Transition Service to confirm the training being funded and the enrolment process.

Workers must be enrolled in approved training before 30 June 2025.

The South Australian Government is helping Whyalla-based apprentices who have been displaced to retain and progress their apprenticeships.

The Whyalla Apprentice Retention Package is designed to support apprentices who are (or were) physically employed in the LGA boundaries of the City of Whyalla, and:

• Are at risk of having their training contract terminated, or are already subject to a pending or active training contract suspension, or
• Whose apprenticeship has been terminated arising from a downturn in their employer’s business on or after 1 February 2025.

Impacted apprentices are encouraged to contact the South Australian Skills Commission (SASC) to access support, wages, and placement with a new host employer.