On 22 July 2020, the Prime Minister announced changes to the JobKeeper scheme, including extending the offering from 28 September 2020 to 28 March 2021 and reducing the current $1,500 payment per fortnight. The amendments to the JobKeeper scheme (commonly referred to as JobKeeper 2.0) will take effect from 28 September 2020.

Reduced JobKeeper Payments

From 28 September 2020, the JobKeeper scheme will transition to a tiered system where eligible employees will receive JobKeeper payments based on the number of hours that they performed for their employer in February 2020. 

Eligible employees who performed an average of 20 hours or more work per week for their employer in the 4 weeks of pay periods prior to 1 March 2020 will receive reduced payments of:

• $1,200 per fortnight from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021; and
• $1,000 per fortnight from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021.

All other eligible employees will receive reduced payments of:

• $750 per fortnight from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021; and
• $650 per fortnight from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021.

Businesses that qualify for the subsidy (eligible business)

Businesses that are currently eligible for the JobKeeper scheme will need to requalify to continue receiving the wage subsidy from 28 September 2020 and again in early January 2021. 

The eligibility test for businesses remains relatively the same. Eligible businesses are:

• businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $1 billion, where the turnover has decreased by at least 30%; 
• Australian charities and Not-for-Profits Commission registered charities where turnover has decreased by at least 15%; and
• for all other businesses, the aggregated turnover has decreased by at least 50% or more.

However, in addition to the existing eligibility test, businesses will also need to demonstrate:

• the requisite decrease in actual GST turnover for the June 2020 and September 2020 quarters compared to the same quarters in 2019 to be eligible to participate in the JobKeeper scheme from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021; and
• the requisite decrease in actual GST turnover for the June 2020, September 2020 and December 2020 quarters compared to the same quarter in 2019 to be eligible to participate in the JobKeeper scheme from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021. 

Eligible employees

Employee eligibility to have their wages subsidized by JobKeeper payments remain unchanged.

If you have any questions about the JobKeeper subsidy or its application to your business, please do not hesitate to contact our team of Employment and Tax law experts.