JobKeeper Payments

The JobKeeper Payment will be available from 30 March 2020.

The JobKeeper Payment will be available for the period until 27 September 2020.

All business types, including not-for-profit, will be eligible with the exception of those listed below.
The following entities will not be eligible:

• Australian Government and its agencies;
• State and Territory governments and their agencies;
• Foreign governments and their agencies;
• Local council governments;
• Wholly-owned corporations of any of the above; and
• A business subject to the Major Bank Levy.

Additionally, a company that is in liquidation, or a partnership, trust or sole trader in bankruptcy, will not be eligible. Some businesses may not be eligible if they are separately provided with support from the Government that explicitly requires them to forgo access to the JobKeeper Payment.

Employers (including not-for-profits) will be eligible for the subsidy if:

• their business has an aggregated turnover of less than $1 billion (for income tax purposes) and estimate their GST turnover has fallen or will likely fall by 30% or more; or
• their business has an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or more (for income tax purposes) and estimate their GST turnover has fallen or will likely fall by 50% or more; or
• their business is not subject to the Major Bank Levy.

For charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), they will be eligible for the subsidy if they estimate their GST turnover has falled or will likely fall by 15% 

You will only be able to claim the JobKeeper payment for eligible employees that were in your employment on 1 March 2020, and continue to be employed while you are claiming the JobKeeper payment.
An eligible employee is an employee who:

• is currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);
• is a full-time or part-time employee, or if a casual employed on a regular and systematic basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020;
• is a permanent employee for the employer, or if a casual employee, not a permanent employee of any other employer;
• was aged 16 years or older at 1 March 2020;
• was an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder at 1 March 2020;
• was a resident for Australia tax purposes on 1 March 2020; and
• is not in receipt of JobKeeper Payment from another employer.

You can only claim JobKeeper payment for eligible employees if you pay the $1,500 per fortnight (before tax) to each eligible employee.
These payments should be made using your payroll system and reported to the ATO via Single Touch Payroll (STP). This will support the online claim process when it is available. If you do not report through STP, you can still claim the JobKeeper payment; however there will be a manual claim process.

You will be required to advise your employees whether you have nominated them as an eligible employee for the purpose of the payment.

The first payments by the ATO will be received by employers from the first week of May.

The payments will be made by the ATO monthly in arrears.

Employers will need to satisfy payment requirements for their eligible employees in respect of each 14 day period covered by the scheme. The first period starts on Monday 30 March 2020 and ends on Sunday 12 April 2020.

The payment requirement is that employers pay their eligible employees a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight in the scheme payment periods. Where an employer pays their staff monthly, the ATO will be able to reallocate payment between periods. However, overall an employee must have received the equivalent of $1,500 per fortnight.

The final period will start on Monday 14 September 2020 and end on Sunday 27 September 2020.

Yes. You can claim the JobKeeper Payment for employees that were stood down after 1 March 2020. To be eligible in relation to these employees, you will need to pay them a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight (before tax) for the payment periods of the JobKeeper Payment.

The first payment period is from 30 March 2020 to 12 April 2020. Where an employer pays their staff monthly the monthly payment must be equivalent to the required fortnightly payment. For all following payment periods you will need to continue to pay your employees a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight (before tax), before the end of the payment period.

Turnover (for purpose of determining how much turnover has declined by) will be defined according to the current calculation GST purposes and is reported on Business Activity Statements. It includes all taxable supplies and all GST free supplies but not input taxed supplies. For registered charities, they may also include donations they have received or are likely to receive in their turnover for the purpose of determining if they have been adversely affected.

For further information on GST turnover, and how to calculate it, is available at ato.gov.au.

You can apply for the payment if you reasonably expect that your GST turnover will fall by 30% or more (or 50% or more for businesses with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or more) relative to your GST turnover in a corresponding period a year earlier. The ATO will provide guidance about self-assessment of actual and anticipated falls in turnover.

In many cases, your payments and obligations to eligible employees will not change. Your business, if eligible, will receive a $1,500 per fortnight subsidy to support their continued employment. However, if any eligible employee currently earns less than $1,500 before tax per fortnight, you will need to pay them $1,500 per fortnight before tax to receive the JobKeeper Payment. This will be classified as a temporary ‘pay rise’.

You must pay a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight to your eligible employees, withholding income tax as appropriate. The $1,500 per fortnight per employee is a before tax amount. Where an employee is paid more than $1,500 per fortnight, the employer’s superannuation obligations will not change. Where an employee is having their wages topped up to $1,500 per fortnight by the JobKeeper Payment, it will be up to the employer if they want to pay superannuation on any additional wages paid by the JobKeeper Payment.

Yes. People who are self-employed will be eligible for the payment provided, at the time of applying, they:

• estimate their GST turnover has or will fall by 30% or more;
• had an ABN on or before 12 March 2020, and
  • either had an amount included in its assessable income for the 2018-19 year and it was included in their income tax return lodged on or before 12 March 2020 (or such later time as allowed by the Commissioner), or
  • made a supply during the period 1 July 2018 to 12 March 2020 and provide this information to the Commissioner on or before 12 March 2020 (or such later time as allowed by the Commissioner);
• were actively engaged in the business;
• are not entitled to another JobKeeper Payment (either a nominated business participant of another business or as an eligible employee);
• are not a permanent employee of any other employer;
• were aged at least 16 years of age as at 1 March 2020; and
• were an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder at 1 March 2020.

No. Only one partner can be nominated to receive the JobKeeper Payment along with any eligible employees, noting a partner cannot be an employee.

Eligible small businesses can receive the 50% wage subsidy for apprentices and trainees in the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees measure from 1 January to 31 March 2020, and the JobKeeper Payment. Where small businesses receive the JobKeeper Payment, they are not eligible to receive the apprentice and trainee wage subsidy from 1 April 2020 onwards.

Further information on the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees measures is available at treasury.gov.au.

NUA Group can assist you in applying the GST turnover test to determine if you and/or your business is eligible for the JobKeeper Payments. We can also assist with reviewing the eligibility of employees.

We understand how difficult it may be to digest all this information and adhere to all requirements in order to be eligible for the JobKeeper Payments. If you need any assistance in applying for the JobKeeper Payment and setting up your Single Touch Payroll reporting system to satisfy all requirements, please call our office on (02) 9725 4000.