We welcome the Prime Minister and Treasurer's announcement today that the JobKeeper Payment will be extended by six months to 28 March 2021 and the temporary Coronavirus Supplement for those on income support will be extended until 31 December 2020.
From 28 September, eligible businesses, including the self-employed and not for profits, will be entitled to $1,200 per fortnight (reduced from $1,200) for employees who were working 20 hours or more weekly prior to the outbreak, followed by a reduction to $1,000 from 4 January 2021.
For employees who worked less than 20 hours per week in the pre-COVID environment, their supports will drop to $750 per fortnight as of October and $650 from the start of next year.
The new two-tiered payment support scheme is expected to lift the total cost of the initiative by $16 billion.
From 28 September 2020, businesses, and not-for-profits will be required to reassess their eligibility by reference to their actual June and September quarter turnovers to demonstrate that they have suffered an ongoing significant decline in turnover. Organisations will need to demonstrate that they have experienced the relevant decline in turnover in both of those quarters to be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment in the December quarter. Click HERE for more information.
The JobKeeper Payment will continue to remain open to new participants that meet the eligibility requirements.
This is a welcomed announcement from the Federal Government which will assist in providing our business community and employees much needed certainty for the next six months as we continue to navigate through these challenges times.
