Westpac CEO Peter King said: “This is a difficult time for people and businesses in Greater Sydney facing an extended lockdown of at least four weeks, with many businesses seriously impacted.
“The joint State and Federal Government’s announcement today will significantly help impacted businesses to stay afloat and importantly, retain their employees, which keeps income flowing into households. This is the right approach, and coupled with increased Disaster Payments, should provide much needed cash flow for essentials and bills.
“We have seen an increase in the number of businesses seeking additional support, roughly double what we did pre-lockdown. We’re also receiving a lot of calls from those looking to understand their options and plan ahead.
“We are here to help. We have a range of tailored support options available and I strongly urge customers to reach out as soon as they are concerned about their financial position.
“It is clear that the majority of Australians need to get vaccinated for us to return to a more normal way of life. We have already seen more than 2500 employees utilise our paid special leave to get their vaccination, and we expect this to increase as vaccination supplies increase across the country. We are committed to introducing a workplace vaccination program when we can, making it easier for both employees and their immediate families to get vaccinated,” Mr King said.
For detailed information on our tailored support measures, please visit our COVID customer support centre
