JobKeeper payment
JOBKEEPER DEADLINE NOW EXTENDED!
24 April 2020
Please note the Commissioner has extended the time to enrol for the initial JobKeeper periods, from 30 April 2020 until 31 May 2020.
If you enrol by 31 May you will still be able to claim for the fortnights in April and May, provided you meet all the eligibility requirements for each of those fortnights. This includes having paid your employees by the appropriate date for each fortnight.
For the first two fortnights (30 March – 12 April, 13 April – 26 April), we will accept the minimum $1,500 payment for each fortnight has been paid by you even if it has been paid late, provided it is paid by 8th May 2020. If you do not pay your staff by this date, you will not be able to claim JobKeeper for the first two fortnights.
You can enrol and claim for JobKeeper earlier if you choose. For example, you can enrol by the end of April to claim JobKeeper payments for the two fortnights in April.
DEADLINE FOR JOBKEEPER APPLICATIONS IS now 31 may 2020
TO APPLY CLICK HERE
How to prepare proof of income for coronavirus stimulus CLICK HERE
Managing cash flow when claiming JobKeeper CLICK HERE
What has changed
11 May 2020
JobKeeper Payment
From JobKeeper fortnight 4, commencing on 11 May, there are new eligibility requirements for employees that are 16 and 17 years old.
This means that 16 and 17 year old employees who identified as eligible under the original eligibility criteria for the first three JobKeeper fortnights (from 30 March until 10 May 2020) may no longer be eligible employees under the JobKeeper wages subsidy scheme from JobKeeper fortnight 4 commencing 11 May.
For 16 and 17 year olds to remain eligible employees, they need to meet the following additional criteria:
From 1 March 2020, the employee aged 16 or 17 was either
- independent, or
- not in full time study.
These terms are defined in the Social Security Act 1991 and further guidance can be found on the Services Australia website at servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals.
In a practical sense this means that full time students are no longer eligible employees unless they are also independent from JobKeeper fortnight 4.
However, employers can still claim for those 16 and 17 year olds who had already identified as eligible employees for JobKeeper fortnights 1 to 3 from 30 March up until 10 May 2020.
What employers need to do
Employers will need to provide their 16 and 17 year old employees with the new JobKeeper Employee nomination notice and have them complete and return it as soon as possible to confirm if they meet the new eligibility criteria and that they agree to be nominated for JobKeeper fortnight 4 commencing on 11 May.
If your 16 and 17 years old employees are no longer eligible, you will no longer identify them as an eligible employee from JobKeeper fortnight 4 which commences 11 May.
Where to go for more information
For more information,
- download the JobKeeper employee nomination notice (PDF, 187KB)This link will download a file or JobKeeper employee nomination notice (DOCX, 75KB)This link will download a file accessible format.
- if you create your own employee nomination notice make sure it contains the new eligibility requirements for 16 and 17 year olds
- visit www.ato.gov.au/jobkeeper
Victoria McCormick
Communication Manager
Public Relations & Social Media
Public Affairs
Australian Taxation Office
BRIDGING FUNDING FOR JOBKEEPER
Australian banks are playing a vitally important role in bridging the finance that businesses need to pay their staff ahead of receiving the first JobKeeper Payment in the first week of May.
It is an integrity measure that businesses pay their staff before receiving the JobKeeper Payment.
On 23 April 2020, the Treasurer announced the CBA, NAB, Westpac and ANZ banks agreed to establish dedicated hotlines for their customers to call to receive the bridging finance necessary to pay their staff ahead of receiving the JobKeeper Payment.
The hotlines are as follows:
- CBA: 13 26 07
- ANZ: 1800 571 123
- NAB: 1800 JOBKEEPER
- Westpac: 1300 731 073 and Westpac’s subsidiaries;
- St George: 1300 730 196
- Bank of Melbourne: 1300 784 873
- Bank SA: 1300 669 472
The banks have also agreed to bring to the front of the queue all bridging finance applications.
This means any business that is eligible for the JobKeeper Payment can now ring the dedicated hotline for the bank and ask for the bridging finance necessary to pay their staff. The banks know their customers. They know these businesses. The banks need to stand by these businesses in their time of greatest need and that is now.
The ATO have also set out detailed guidance on eligibility and enrolment for the JobKeeper Payment. https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/
14 April 2020
JobKeeper Explanatory Statement from Treasurer Josh Frydenburg Click here
9 April 2020
JOBKEEPER LEGISLATION NOW LAW
Yesterday marked one of the most important days in the Parliament’s history with the passage of legislation to support the Morrison Government’s $130 billion JobKeeper Payment.
This unprecedented level of financial support will save millions of jobs and keep families together, businesses in business and preserve the productive capacity of the Australian economy.
The $1,500 per fortnight JobKeeper payment is the equivalent of about 70 per cent of the median wage and represents about 100 per cent of the median wage in some of the most heavily affected sectors, such as retail, hospitality and tourism.
It will be available to full-time and part-time workers, sole traders and casuals who have been with their employer for 12 months or more. Importantly, it will apply to the many Australians working in the not for profit sector.
Combined with the Government’s previous actions, this totals $320 billion or 16.4 per cent of GDP in economic support to Australian businesses, households and individuals affected by the Coronavirus puts Australia in the best possible position to bounce back stronger than ever.
Eligible businesses can apply for the payment online and are able to register their interest via ATO.GOV.AU
For more information on the JobKeeper Payment click HERE
31 March 2020
Please click JobKeeper Payment — Information for Employers for the updated information.
The wording in the fact sheet has been amended.
Eligible employers
Employers will be eligible for the subsidy if:
- their business has a turnover of less than $1 billion and their turnover has fallen by more than 30 per cent (of at least a month); or
- their business has a turnover of $1 billion or more and their turnover has fallen by more than 50 per cent (of at least a month); and
- the business is not subject to the Major Bank Levy.
To establish that a business has faced either a 30 (or 50) per cent fall in their turnover, most businesses would be expected to establish that their turnover has fallen in the relevant month or three months
(depending on the natural activity statement reporting period of that business) relative to their turnover a year earlier. Where a business was not in operation a year earlier, or where their turnover a year earlier was not representative of their usual or average turnover, (e.g. because there was a large interim acquisition, they were newly established or their turnover is typically highly variable) the Tax Commissioner will have discretion to consider additional information that the business can provide to establish that they have been significantly affected by the impacts of the Coronavirus. The Tax Commissioner will also have discretion to set out alternative tests that would establish eligibility in specific circumstances (e.g. eligibility may be established as soon as a business has ceased or significantly curtailed its operations). There will be some tolerance where employers, in good faith, estimate a greater than 30 (or 50) per cent fall in turnover but actually experience a slightly smaller fall.
Last updated: 31 March 2020
On the 30th March 2020, The Morrison Government introduced a JobKeeper Payment of $1,500 per fortnight, per eligible employee, for up to 6 months.
- The JobKeeper Payment will start on 30 March 2020, with the first payment to be received by employers in the first week of May.
- Employers must pass this payment on to their employees.
- Eligible employers include businesses structured through companies, partnerships, trusts and sole traders.
- Not for profit entities, including charities, will also be eligible.
- Self-employed individuals are also eligible to receive the JobKeeper Payment.
- Employers must elect to participate in the scheme. You can do this at: REGISTER JOBKEEPER PAYMENT
- To be eligible, an employee must have been on the employer’s books on 1 March 2020 and continue to be engaged by that employer.
- The JobKeeper Payment is open to full-time, part-time and long term casuals (employed on a regular basis for at least the previous 12 months) and stood down employees.
- Employees that are re-engaged by a business that was their employer on 1 March 2020 will also be eligible.
- Self-employed individuals will be eligible to receive the JobKeeper Payment where they have suffered or expect to suffer a 30% decline in turnover relative to a comparable prior period (of at least a month).
- Employers will be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment if:
- their business has a turnover of less than $1 billion and their turnover will be reduced by more than 30 per cent relative to a comparable prior period (of at least a month); or
- their business has a turnover of $1 billion or more and their turnover will be reduced by more than 50 percent relative to a comparable prior period (of at least a month); and
- the business is not subject to the Major Bank Levy.
For more information on the JobKeeper Payment visit: FACTSHEET SUPPORTING BUSINESSES
For Employers Factsheet visit: FACTSHEET FOR EMPLOYERS update 31 March 2020
Employees Factsheet visit: FACTSHEET FOR EMPLOYEES
To read the Prime Minister and Treasurer’s Media Statement: KEEP AUSTRALIANS JOB