Owners of more than 40 per cent of Queensland businesses have been forced to dip into savings to stay afloat, with an average contribution of more than $110,000, new survey data says.
Numbers from the Chamber of Commerce & Industry Queensland's (CCIQ) quarterly survey suggest the combination of declining government support and ongoing lockdowns is having a significant impact on confidence, Policy and Advocacy General Manager Amanda Rohan said.
"Businesses have struggled to get back to business and restore confidence levels to pre-COVID conditions, especially since the end of JobKeeper and the three lockdowns following," Ms Rohan said.
"It's meant more than 40% of businesses have been forced to contribute their own personal funds to keep their business afloat, on average more than $110,000."
The survey comes as South East Queensland emerges from an eight-day lockdown while Cairns enters three days of heavy restrictions.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath reminded businesses that with lockdown ending, restrictions are still in place to keep patrons safe.
"A lot of the images we saw last night of venues opening back up and everyone going out and enjoying themselves it does look like a number of businesses are operating at full capacity," she said on Monday.
"I do remind businesses that one per four square metres ... is lawfully required, but it's so important. If we do this right for the next two weeks, we can ease restrictions further but we have to make sure that we've got that social distancing happening at our venues."
Meanwhile, the state opposition has been calling for more support for businesses affected by COVID restrictions.
"A one-off payment of $5000 which only a third of businesses can even apply for isn't going to cut it," opposition Treasurer David Janetzki said in response to the CCIQ figures.
"We have repeatedly put forward suggestions for a stronger lockdown support package including faster and easier access to payments and a sliding scale for different sized businesses."
The survey results follow criticism from the National Retail Association after health authorities asked Queenslanders in the southeast not to shop online in a bid to reduce the amount of delivery workers in the community during last week's lockdown.
