'Nearly impossible' for small business owners to reach out to Centrelink

Ms Carnell told A Current Affair most small businesses had just 21-28 days of capital  in reserve without any income.

"Many owners know they'll have to go to Centrelink, but they just haven't yet," she said.

"It's nearly impossible for them.

"They've never been near Centrelink or welfare in their life."

She said one of the hardest parts about the current business crisis was that there had been no warning – no slow economic slide, for example.

"They had good businesses three weeks ago," she said.

But Ms Carnell was confident that the sector could bounce back – though slowly.

"Once people are allowed out, they will, hopefully, be shopping again," she said.

"It won't be immediate, many are very cash-strapped."

In the meantime, she said, Australia needed to "go further" on support for stood-down workers, while keeping an eye on the "delicate balance" of debt.