Business loans and support in Victoria

Victoria has changed more of its business tax settings recently than any other state. The payroll tax threshold went up in 2025, the way commercial property is taxed is being rebuilt from the ground up, and regional employers have their own payroll tax rate. None of that is hard to follow once it’s laid out, but it does mean advice from even a few years ago can be out of date. Here’s where things stand for 2026–27.

How does payroll tax work in Victoria now?

From 1 July 2025, the tax-free threshold rose from $900,000 to $1 million a year for annual returns, and from $75,000 to $83,333 for monthly returns. That lifted a group of growing employers out of payroll tax altogether and trimmed the bill for everyone else below the phase-out.

The phase-out is the Victorian quirk to understand. The deduction doesn’t sit still as you grow:

• Up to $3 million of Australian wages, you get the full deduction.
• Between $3 million and $5 million, the deduction reduces.
• At $5 million and above, there is no deduction at all.

Very large employers also pay a mental health and wellbeing surcharge on top, which the SRO explains in its surcharge pages.

As in other states, wages include super, bonuses and some contractor payments, and grouped businesses share a single threshold. If you employ in Victoria and another state, your Victorian share is proportional. The payroll tax threshold checker gives you a quick read on where you sit.

Is there a regional payroll tax rate in Victoria?

Yes, and it’s a significant one. If your business is based in regional Victoria and you pay at least 85% of your wages to employees in regional Victoria, you can use the regional rate, which is a small fraction of the general rate.

That matters for decisions such as where to put a new warehouse or second site. A manufacturer weighing an outer-Melbourne industrial estate against Ballarat or Bendigo should run the numbers both ways, because the payroll tax difference compounds every month. Our Geelong page looks at how that plays out in the state’s second city.

What’s happening to stamp duty on commercial property?

Victoria is phasing out stamp duty on commercial and industrial property and replacing it with an annual Commercial and Industrial Property Tax (CIPT). The broad shape:

Stage	What happens
Entry sale (from 1 July 2024)	A qualifying commercial or industrial property sells; duty is paid one final time
Transition loan (optional)	Eligible buyers can borrow the final duty from Treasury Corporation of Victoria and repay it in 10 equal annual instalments
10 years after entry	The property starts paying the annual CIPT instead of duty on later sales

For a buyer, the first question is whether the property has already entered the reform. If it has, a future purchase may avoid duty altogether. If it hasn’t, you’ll pay duty now (or use the transition loan), and the property will pay annual tax a decade later. Either way, put the property’s status on your due-diligence list and ask your conveyancer early. The stamp duty comparison shows how different this is from other states.

Land tax continues to apply to business premises above the threshold, and the SRO’s calculator is the quickest way to estimate it for your holdings.

What support is available for Victorian businesses?

• Business Victoria — the state’s grants and programs finder, plus workshops and advice. Programs open and close, so it’s worth checking before any big spend.
• Victorian Small Business Commission — low-cost dispute resolution with a preliminary assistance and mediation process. It handles retail tenancy matters and issues the certificate a tenant needs to sign a retail lease shorter than five years.
• Regional Development Victoria — the lead agency for regional economic development, running programs such as the Regional Jobs Fund, Regional Infrastructure Fund, Tiny Towns Fund and Living Local Regional Fund.

Our small business commissioners guide compares what each state’s commissioner does.

How do lenders look at Victorian property and businesses?

For property-secured loans, Victoria behaves much like the other eastern states. Melbourne homes and commercial property are widely accepted, and second mortgages behind an existing home loan are a common way to release equity for business use. See the Melbourne page.

Regional cities — Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura, Warrnambool, Wodonga and the Latrobe Valley — are routinely accepted as well. Where lenders slow down is small towns, farmland and specialised buildings. They’ll want a proper valuation and may reduce how much they lend against the property. Our regional business loans guide covers what they check.

If you don’t own property, unsecured and line-of-credit options for trading businesses, mostly from $5,000 to $500,000, are judged on trading history and bank statements. That suits working-capital needs like stock, wages and an unexpected tax bill. You can find out what fits your business without a credit check at the enquiry stage.

Common reasons Victorian owners look for finance

• Funding the final stamp duty or deposit on a warehouse or shop.
• Covering the first payroll tax returns after crossing the $1 million line.
• Fit-out and equipment for a second site, often in a regional city where the payroll tax rate is lower.
• Seasonal stock for alpine, coastal and wine-region tourism businesses.
• Paying out ATO debt or consolidating expensive short-term debt.

Illustrative example: a Bendigo food manufacturer with most of its staff in regional Victoria wants to buy the factory it currently rents. The property hasn’t yet entered the CIPT reform, so the owner weighs paying the final duty upfront against the 10-year transition loan, and uses a property-secured business loan for the deposit. The regional payroll tax rate stays in place because the workforce remains local.

Let’s find the right fit for your Victorian business

From Melbourne’s inner north to the Mallee, the first step is a short enquiry: where you are, what you need and whether property is involved. It takes about a minute and there’s no credit check. Your details aren’t shopped around to other lenders — one team handles your file, and a real person rings you to talk it through. The more accurate your answers, the faster we can match you properly.

Check what your Victorian business could qualify for →