An online forum will connect local businesses impacted by the lockdown extension with resources to help.

It will also be an opportunity to have questions answered and provide feedback directly to Minister for Finance and Small Business Damien Tudehope, Service NSW representatives and Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson.

Tamworth Business Chamber president Stephanie Cameron said a similar forum was offered to COVID impacted businesses last year.

"It will be a bit like a panel, where each person on the panel will speak for five to ten minutes and then there will be an opportunity for questions from the floor," she said.

"It is targeted at business people to let the ministers know how they're thinking and feeling.

"It's a tough time for a lot of businesses and sometimes it helps if you can let the people in charge know how you're feeling and what sort of support you need."

READ ALSO:

Any information governments can provide at the moment to make support more accessible is a positive, according to Powerhouse Hotel Tamworth general manager Daine Cooper.

"There will always be someone who wants more information or more help, so providing information sessions to ensure that no one misses out and everyone is covered and protected is a good thing," he said.

He said it is particularly important in the wake of the latest lockdown extension and the struggles being faced by local tourism and hospitality operators.

"The government help has been really good, a lot of our staff are on the disaster payments, JobSaver applications have been going through as well for the business, so that's been a big shining light like last year," he added.

"The key thing for us is just making sure staff are employed and keep their jobs."

This week the NSW government's JobSaver program was expanded to include those with an annual turnover between $250 million and $500 million, who will receive 40 per cent of their weekly payroll at a maximum of $300,000 a week.

Larger businesses with a turnover between $500 million and $1 billion can also expect up to $500,000 each week. Previously, the program had only provided eligible businesses with revenues between $75,000 and $250 million with weekly payments of up to $100,000.

But Mr Cooper said it's the small to medium sized businesses that should be getting the most support.

"They're the ones that I think get impacted the worst when it comes to these lockdowns," he said.

"Especially new and emerging businesses, it hits them quite hard. They don't have the backing of billions of dollars or a lot of time in the industry to settle in, so I think they really need to focus on small to medium business to mature and survive until we come out of this."

The online support forum is planned for Friday, September 3 at 3pm.

The forum is a partnership between the Tamworth Business Chamber and Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce. The meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams.

Registrations can be made by contacting the Tamworth Business Chamber on 02 6766 4810 or Gunnedah Business Chamber on 02 6742 3600 or chamber@gunnedah.org.au

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: