Jobkeeper 2.0
Just when you thought the Australian Government couldn’t get any more generous, new details for Jobkeeper 2.0 have been released! (Lucky we didn’t blow the budget in the first round, huh?)
Although these changes do not come into full effect until 28th of September, this information does give Australian business owners and workers a bit of breathing space to plan for the next phase of staying afloat during a never-ending pandemic.
So, first of all, the Jobkeeper scheme has been extended until 31st March 2021. However, the amounts paid to businesses and employees will be reduced in this second phase.
From the 28th September 2020, all the way through until the 3rd Jan 2021, employees who work 20 hours or more per week (this is considered ‘full-time’) will be paid a total-before-tax amount of $1200 per fortnight (reduced from the original $1500 per fortnight) and employees working less then 20 hours per week (considered ‘casual’ or ‘part-time’) will be paid a total-before-tax amount of $750 (reduced from the original $1500 per fortnight).
Once we hit the following quarter, from 4th Jan 2021 to 28th March 2021, this amount will then be reduced further to $1000 per fortnight for employees working 20 hours or more per week and $650 for employees working less then 20 hours a week.
Now for the juicy bit – are you and your business eligible for the Jobkeeper extension?
That depends. Businesses will need to re-test their eligibility and show a decline of 30% or more for both the June and September quarters to be able to receive payments until December.
They will then need to re-test once again, and show a decline of 30% or more across the June, September and December quarters to receive the Jobkeeper payments all the way through until the 28th March 2021.
Again, it will take some time for full legislation and more details to be released. But in the meantime, if your business has been feeling the heat of the virus even with the Jobkeeper support, then at least you can rest assured the government won’t turn its back on you come September.
I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on any changes that evolve.
If you’d like to know more, below is also a link to the treasury’s fact sheet:
https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/jobkeeper/extension
As always, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at hello@zestbooks.com.au.