Flood-affected businesses urged to seek advice from new Business Recovery Hubs. Deputy Mayor Krista Adams is urging businesses impacted by last month’s severe flooding event to take advantage of three Business Recovery Hubs that are now open.
| Hub | Address | When support is available |
|---|---|---|
| Suburban Business Hub | 16 Aspinall Street, Nundah | 8.30am-4.30pm Monday to Friday |
| The Clubhouse Moorooka | 76 Koala Road, Moorooka | 9am-5pm Monday to Friday |
| Brisbane Business Hub | Level 2, 155 Queen Street, Brisbane | 10am-2pm Monday to Friday |
Cr Adams said the recovery hubs have experts on hand who can provide advice to owners about what’s needed to get their business back up and operating again. “This is an incredibly tough time for many Brisbane business owners who have now added a natural disaster to their list of challenges over the past two years,” she said.
“To help them out, we’ve put this specialist service in place so they can more easily deal with the challenges they face following last month’s flood.
“There are a lot of things to consider when you’re reopening a business, including dealing with insurance, ensuring flood-affected premises are safe and following food safety rules appropriately.
“Our recovery hubs located in the CBD, Nundah and Moorooka give business owners access to information about insurance, grants and financial assistance, mentoring, general assistance and links to mental health support.
“Local businesses are critical to our community and for many, a sole source of income, so this support is vital to helping people get back on their feet as soon as possible.”
Clean up considerations
When you return to your premises to safely get your business up and running again, make sure to consider:
- Personal safety – WorkSafe Queensland advice for workers involved with flood recovery
- Insurance – Take photos of damages including equipment, furniture, furnishings, floor coverings, appliances etc before removing them from your business premises.
- Electrical and power safety
- Contact a licensed electrician to do a safety check of wiring and switchboards before turning on the power. All electrical equipment that may have come into contact with flood waters should also be checked by a licensed electrician before using.
- Energex flood response information
- Electrical generator safety information from Energex
- Gas safety – Queensland Government information on gas safety following a flood
- Asbestos – Queensland Government information on asbestos safety following a flood
- Food safety – Queensland Government information on food safety following a flood
- Waste services – Businesses can take flood damaged goods to their closest resource recovery centre free of charge
Temporary workspace
If you or your staff need to access space to work on a temporary basis, you can consider the following:
- Suburban Business Hub at Nundah is available for co-working and meetings
- Brisbane Business Hub in the CBD has casual hot desking spaces
- Co-working spaces in South East Queensland.
Financial assistance
Council has compiled the following list of financial assistance available to businesses to support flood recovery:
- Council’s Flood Rate Relief
- Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and Allowance
- Queensland Government Small Business Disaster Relief
- Small Business Debt Helpline can help you find and apply for grants, concession loans and bill relief and can help with your insurance.
Advice by business type
Find information and advice, specific to your business type:
- Retail business
- flood recovery information for retail business provided by Queensland Government
- Hospitality and tourism
- flood recovery information for hospitality and Tourism provided by Queensland Government
- Other small business
- flood recovery information for other Small Business provided by Queensland Government.
One-on-one advice
You can book a one-on-one session with Council’s Business Liaison Officers to hear about the resources and programs that are available to support your business flood recovery. Email the team or call Brisbane City Council on 133 BNE (133 263) to book a one on one session.
Other resources
Flood legal help by Legal Aid Queensland
Legal Aid Queensland provides Natural Disaster Legal Help as well as useful factsheets:
Human Resources (HR) and export help by CCIQ
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland’s HR and export helplines are available for free to support affected businesses as well as Leave entitlement advice.
Small Business Commissioner
The Queensland Government Small Business Commissioner can provide assistance and advocacy
Mental health support by Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue provides Free and confidential mental health support for small business owners and advice on Natural Disasters and your mental health.
Business recovery factsheets
Council has compiled factsheets to assist businesses in the recovery from the recent weather event, including returning to your business premises and support services:
- Business recovery support factsheet (Word – 88kb)
- Returning to your business premises (Word – 88kb).
More information
To find out more about Council’s support for business flood recovery or report any flood related issues, phone Council’s Business Hotline on 133 BNE (133 263) which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
