If your business has been significantly impacted by the Coronavirus you will be able to access a wages subsidy to continue paying your employees. Under the JobKeeper program, you will be able to claim a fortnightly payment of $1,500 per eligible employee from 30 March 2020, for a maximum of six months. This assistance will help you keep staff and will help you restart when the crisis is over.
The payments will start flowing directly to businesses from 1 May and they will be backdated to 1 March. The payments will be administered by the ATO in conjunction with the single touch payroll system.
Small to medium business eligibility:
Turnover will be reduced by more than 30 per cent relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month)
The employer must have been in an employment relationship with eligible employees as at 1 March 2020, and confirm that each eligible employee is currently engaged in order to receive JobKeeper Payments.
Eligible employees:
Are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);
Were employed by the employer at 1 March 2020;
Are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020);
Are at least 16 years of age;
Are an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, a Protected Special Category Visa Holder, non-protected Special Category Visa Holder who has been residing continually in Australia for 10 years or more, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder; and
Are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer.
Businesses without employees
The Self-employed can also apply for the JobKeeper payment, although details are still vague. They will need to nominate an individual to receive the payment and provide that individual’s Tax File Number and provide a declaration as to recent business activity. People who are self-employed will need to provide a monthly update to the ATO to declare their continued eligibility for the payments.
Application Process
The JobKeeper measure will be administered via the ATO. You can register your interest here.
Although the finer details are not yet known, clients with reduced turnover are now in a much better position to know the level of support they will now receive over the next 6 months.
Further details can be found here
Please contact us to discuss how these new measures may support your business.