Our Office, COVID-19 & Government Stimulus - 23 March 2020




There is no doubt that the Corona Virus (Covid-19) has upset the world as we know it and that it is also unlikely that things will be back to “normal” any time soon.  With the end of year ATO deadlines fast approaching and the share market turning into a roller coaster we want to reassure you that the team at Ridgway Accounting (RA) and Ridgway Financial Services (RFS) remain committed to being here for all your accounting and financial planning needs.  We are open with all staff available in the office as normal and intend to remain open.  However like all of you we are monitoring the situation and putting in place systems to allow us to continue to work remotely should that become necessary as we plan to be available throughout the entire period.

The health and wellbeing of our staff and clients is of paramount importance so we will be acting on further updates as they come to light.  For now please note that:-
  • The office at 101 Neil Street Toowoomba remains open from 8am to 5pm as normal.
  • With the Toowoomba show holiday on Thursday 26 March the office will be also open with selected staff electing to have their holiday on the Friday so we can remain open all week.
  • We request that any clients who are feeling unwell please consider a telephone or skype appointment where possible.
  • We have instigated a regular disinfection process in the office aiming to ensure that germs will not spread to our staff or clients.
  • Similarly any staff feeling unwell have been requested to stay home to ensure that we don’t spread any infections to staff or clients.
  • We have cancelled all out of office staff training and travel in line with government recommendations to limit travel where possible:-
    • This means that next week’s trip by Todd to Central Queensland (deferred once due to floods) will not go ahead.
    • All clients already booked will be contacted by telephone at the scheduled time for a telephone appointment by default.
    • If you would prefer to arrange a video call – or cancel your appointment – please reply and our team will action this for you.
  • We encourage all clients who have not done so to send in your information as soon as possible to give us sufficient time to process your information within the required timeframes.
    • Note that you cannot be certain that you may not be well closer to the deadline so best get in early while we are all available.
    • Unfortunately we also cannot guarantee we will have the full RA/RFS team to allow us meet all deadlines. [Although we will do everything we can as normal]


Finally, on 12 March 2020 the Morrison Government announced a $17.6 billion economic plan to keep Australians in jobs, keep businesses in business and support households and the Australian economy as the world deals with the significant challenges posed by the spread of the coronavirus. With all the other news available we thought it would be prudent to provide a summary of the Government's proposed stimulus package to remind you what you might be entitled to if the proposal is approved. We note that the parliament meets on 23 March to discuss the proposal and hopefully put in place the relevant legislation.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the team.

Wishing you all the best.  Please stay safe, healthy and look after yourselves through these trying times.

Kind Regards,

David, Todd and the team

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