On 21 July 2020, the Government announced that JobKeeper would be extended in two tranches to 28 March 2021, however the payments to eligible employers will reduce progressively over two time periods.
As a result of stage 4 restrictions, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has now announced that the proposed eligibility turnover test will be eased to enable more businesses to qualify.
Employers will only have to show a fall in turnover in the relevant quarter compared to the same quarter last year. The original announcement required turnover to be compared over multiple quarters.
What are the new eligibility changes?
- Businesses will be required to re-apply for JobKeeper. They must show at least a 30% decline in turnover for the Quarter ended 30 September 2020 as compared to the September ’19 Quarter if they wish to qualify for JobKeeper for the period 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021.*
- For the JobKeeper period 4 January to 28 March 2021, businesses will need to again re-apply. They must show at least a 30% decline in turnover for the December ’20 Quarter as compared to the December ’19 Quarter.*
- There is a change in start date of employees, with eligible employees required to be employed as at 1 July 2020.
- The drop in the rate to $1,200 for full time workers and $750 for those working less than 20 hours per week will remain the same for the period 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021 with the rate reducing to $1,000 and $650 respectively for the period 4 January 2020 to 28 March 2021.
* 30% applies for businesses with turnovers no more than $1 billion. If turnover is greater than $1 billion, then the decline must be at least 50%.
The treasury fact sheet has now been released and is accessible here
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your accountant or adviser directly or call us on 03 8419 9800.
