The Shopping Centre Council of Australia has revealed that its members have provided $1.6 billion of rental assistance to retailers nation-wide.
The SCCA reports that the largest level of assistance has been given to cafes and restaurants, followed by retail services such as hairdressers, beauty salons and nail bars.
SCCA executive director Angus Nardi said that the assistance provided by the industry is one of the largest made by a private sector community.
"The Council is releasing this data today to demonstrate the real dollar value of assistance that our members have provided to helping our SME and non-SME retailers, including under the Commercial Tenancies Code of Conduct.
"This is a direct financial contribution from our members to their retailers.
"The $1.6 billion value of rental assistance is almost certainly the largest private sector commitment to helping small business, which is unlike deferrals of interest or repayments on loans," he said.
In a state by state breakdown, the SCCA revealed that NSW and Victoria made up 64% of total agreements reached.
The organisation reports that assistance given to retailers in NSW totalled $581 million, Victoria received $412 million, while Queensland retailers have been given $366 million in assistance.
Nardi added that while the organisation's members have supported their retailers during this time, they can't continue to do so as prescribed by the Code of Conduct's extension.
"Our industry has provided substantial rental assistance to both SME and non-SME retailers, however we are unable to continue to shoulder that assistance, and for that reason, are not in a position to support the Code of Conduct’s extension where the cost of doing so falls exclusively on shopping centre owners.
"We have strived to strike a balance between helping those who need it while at the same time confronting our own financial
pressures in the face of ongoing disruptions to regular trading to protect public health.
"Unlike others, our sector stands alone in having regulation require us to provide direct financial assistance to third parties,
which must be financed from our own resources, which are now exhausted.
"Our industry remains committed to working closely and co-operatively with our SME partners, particularly ‘small’ SMEs (e.g.
with turnover of up to $5 million), in the spirit for which the SCCA conceived the Code of Conduct in the first place with key
retailer groups and well ahead of any government intervention.
"It is in our commercial interests as well as the broader economy that SMEs have longevity within our centres as they provide
products and services our customers want and support local jobs," he said.
Nardi continued and said that the SCCA is committed to continuing working with SME retailers.
"The SCCA conceived the Code of Conduct with key retailer groups, and government should take confidence that the industry can and will continue to work together, similar to our long-term successful industry Code for Casual Mall Licensing and which is chaired by former Australian Small Business Commissioner, Mark Brennan.
"We have proven our ability to manage a very complex range of negotiations on a case-by-case basis and our data demonstrates where the greatest need is for future government support for SMEs in the retail sector," he said.