NEWS

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has today announced a JobKeeper payment to “cushion the blow” of the coronavirus.

Applying to full-time, part-time and casual workers, as well as sole traders, the wage subsidy of $1,500 per employee per fortnight will help keep employees on the books as we navigate the pandemic. Casual employees must have been with their employers for 12 months or more to be eligible.

Businesses with a turnover of under $1 million will be eligible to receive the wage subsidy if they have seen a decrease of 30% and those with a turnover of over $1 billion if they have seen a decrease of 50%.

The flat payment of $1,500 per employee per fortnight represents 70% of the Australian median wage and 100% of the median wage in those industries most seriously affected by COVID-19, including hospitality, retail and tourism.

Payments will be made directly to the employer who will in turn pay the employee through their existing payroll system. The ATO will facilitate the payment to the employer for each employee on their payroll from 1 March 2020, including any employee who may have been stood down since then due to COVID-19 on the condition that the business puts that employee back on their payroll. Payments to employers will be made from early-May and backdated to 1 March

Bringing the current stimulus effort to $320 billion, the wage subsidy will cost $130 billion or around 16% of Australia’s GDP.

Businesses, sole traders and not-for-profit organisations who believe they are eligible for the JobKeeper Payment should register their interest on the ATO website here. Employees who want to access this payment are encouraged to contact their employer and ask if they are accessing the JobKeeper Payment.

Please be advised that information shared by Council and posted on this page regarding the COVID-19 response was correct at the time of publication.

Due to the dynamic nature of the federal and state governments responses to the pandemic – information, fact sheets, and government websites are being updated but often are lagging as the situation changes and new orders and/or directives become law and recommendations or guidelines are put into place.