The Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network executive committee sees great opportunity for local businesses to benefit from the measures being put in place following the announcement of the 2020-21 Federal Budget.

With the government set to spend big to inspire business and buyer confidence, SCBWN President Roz White sees this as a great support for our local business owners, which will in turn boost our local and broader economy.

“We’re delighted to see that this budget has been built around business as the driver to stimulate our economy.

“With a range of tax cuts and incentives available for businesses we should see an increase in spending, innovation, and creating more jobs for our region. Plus, a positive focus and extra funding for mental health programs is very promising.

“Connecting with our network members over this challenging year, the key concerns identified among members were uncertainty and cash flow as well as managing mental health impacts from this turbulent time. I believe this budget is going to help with all those pain points as well as foster positivity and confidence to move onward and upward,” shared Roz White.

A big focus in this budget is on bringing the unemployment rate down with programs such as the JobMaker Hiring Credit Scheme and subsidized apprentice and trainee wages, as well as infrastructure investment to support 680 local jobs.

A number of initiatives have been identified specifically for women as it’s been recognised that women have been particularly affected by the reduced employment opportunities as a result of COVID-19.

“Seeing programs specifically to support women to both gain work and grow their businesses is so wonderful to see. There is still much to be done to support women in the workforce but having a number of programs on the government’s agenda that directly serve women is a great step in the right direction,” said Roz.

The government funded programs for women include; $240m for the 2020 Women’s Economic Security Statement to help women move into higher paid professional jobs in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM); expanding proven programs in the $50m Women@Work initiative; and $35.9m additional funding for the existing Boosting Female Founders initiative.

With the SCBWN committee focused on delivering on their purpose to empower and celebrate women to achieve in business, the group encourages female business owners, employees or those looking to get into work to connect with the network for extra support, encouragement, connection and education.