q4 financial | The Federal Government JobKeeper Package
Just in case you missed it, the Federal Government has announced a JobKeeper package with the hope of saving up to 6 million jobs in Australia.
HEADLINE DETAILS
- A $1,500 per fortnight flat payment to businesses.
- Businesses will receive JobKeeper payments for every employee they have on the books since March 1.
- The JobKeeper payment will cover six million Australian workers.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
Businesses
- Small and medium businesses that suffer a 30 percent fall in turnover since March 1.
- Larger businesses (with a turnover of more than $1 billion that suffer a 50 percent fall since March 1.
- Businesses will self-assess their fall in turnover over a minimum one-month period.
Employees
Any employee who has been on a company’s books since March 1 including:
- Full-time workers
- Part-time workers
- Casuals who have served 12 months or more
- Category 444 visa holders from New Zealand.
If you have lost your job or been stood down, call your employer to discuss whether they are applying for the subsidies. They will still be eligible to re-employ you and get the subsidy if you were on the books on March 1.
If you get a JobKeeper subsidy, you will not get a Jobseeker welfare payment.
HOW IT WILL WORK
- Businesses can pass the subsidies to employees from now.
- Companies will be reimbursed by the Australian Taxation Office from the first week of May.
- The ATO will hand out the subsidies through monthly arrears.
You must register for this.
Employers can apply for JobKeeper subsidies online now at https://www.ato.gov.au/general/gen/JobKeeper-payment/ .
You can also visit treasury.gov.au for examples of how the payment will be applied.
Whilst the Government has been working frantically to save the economy and as many jobs as possible, we recognise that some people may have fallen through the support cracks.
For example it is not clear at this stage how working directors will be supported. Nor are we certain how the turnover reduction will be calculated. As soon as we know more we will keep you informed.
If you missed our first and second updates on the various COVID-19 stimulus packages you can find them on our blog:
q4 financial Blog First Update – Covid-19 Update
For many of you, time management will now be even more important as we juggle work and support children learning from home. There is now a lot to manage, so we encourage you to stick to a schedule as much as possible, planning your daily activities and remaining focused on headline items to ensure the wellbeing of you, your family and your business.
Stay positive, healthy and remember the long term outcomes you are seeking as much as possible.
Sincerely,
Grant Titman and Kelly Hill
Directors
q4 financial
