From 15 September 2020 the Government announced amendments to the JobKeeper scheme.
We have summarised the main changes below; however, should you wish to discuss your eligibility,
or your personal circumstances, please feel free to contact us on 08-9754-4144.
Extension of the scheme until 28 March 2021:
The new JobKeeper scheme is now split into 2 extension periods:
Extension period 1: Monday 28 September 2020 to Sunday 3 January 2021
Extension period 2: Monday 4 January to Sunday 28 March 2021
A two-tier payment system:
Extension period 1: Tier 1 Rate – $1,200 per fortnight Tier 2 Rate – $750 per fortnight
Extension period 2: Tier 1 Rate – $1,000 per fortnight Tier 2 Rate – $650 per fortnight
The applicable payment rate will depend on each employee’s total working hours within a reference period.
Reference Period:
Eligible Employee – The 28-day period ending at the end of the most recent pay cycle for the employee for the entity that ended, either:
- Before 1 March 2020 (i.e. February 2020), or
- Before 1 July 2020 (i.e. June 2020).
Eligible Business Participant/Religious Practitioner – The month of February 2020.
Note: The Commissioner may consider an alternative reference period if the above is not suitable to your business.
Working Hours:
Eligible Employee:
Tier 1 Rate – Total hours of work, paid leave and paid absence on public holidays in reference period >= 80 hours for the relevant 28-day period.
Tier 2 Rate – Total hours of work, paid leave and paid absence on public holidays in reference period < 80 hours for the relevant 28-day period.
Eligible Business Participant/Religious Practitioner:
Tier 1 Rate – Total hours the individual was actively engaged in the business in
reference period >= 80 hours. (Religious Practitioner – hours spent in the pursuit of their vocation and as a member of a registered religious institution).
Tier 2 Rate – Total hours the individual was actively engaged in the business in reference period < 80 hours. (Religious Practitioner – hours spent in the pursuit of
their vocation and as a member of a registered religious institution)
Note: an employee only needs to satisfy the 80 hours requirement in one of either reference periods. A Business Participant/Religious Practitioner must make a declaration of the hours within the relevant reference period.
IMPORTANT
The employer must:
- Notify the ATO of the relevant payment rate for each relevant individual.
- Notify the individual/employee of the payment rate within 7 days of notifying the ATO.
- Details on how to notify the ATO are still to be released including the timeframe deadlines.
New Test Periods (from 28 September 2020)
To qualify for each extension period the business is required to ‘re-test’ its eligibility each quarter based on the ‘actual decline in turnover test’. The decline in turnover thresholds remain at 30% for businesses with a turnover of $1 billion or less (50% if over) and 15% for ACNC registered Not-For-Profits.
Extension period 1: Test Period – Current GST Turnover for September 2020 Quarter
Comparison Period – Current GST turnover for September 2019 Quarter
Extension period 2: Test Period – Current GST Turnover for December 2020 Quarter
Comparison Period – Current GST turnover for December 2019 Quarter
Note:
- Current turnover means actual turnover (not estimated or projected).
- The test period is a quarter (no option for a month).
- The ATO will announce alternative test periods that mirror the original test periods. If an alternative period is used to qualify for JobKeeper 2.0 then this will have to be communicated to the ATO.
Important to note: if a casual employee was not an eligible employee prior to 3 August 2020, you can use the 1 July 2020 test to reassess that employee’s eligibility. The test requires that the employee be employed on a regular and systematic basis for the period 2 July 2019 to 1 July 2020. A casual that only qualified for the scheme from 1 July 2020 will be assessed on the hours worked in the month of June as opposed to February.
Please refer to the ATO website for further information or contact us on 08-9754-4144:
https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/
Please find attached a handy one page summary document regarding the JobKeeper extension:
