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JobKeeper 2.0 Extended Eligibility - Assists Victorian Business

The Federal government announced some tweaking of the detail contained in their July 21 Press Release

Yesterday the Federal government announced some tweaking of the detail contained in their July 21 Press Release (details below) that extended the JobKeeper program through until the end of March 2021. As a consequence of the worsening Covid situation in Victoria and the adverse flow on effect to business by forced closures, the government softened some of the principles inherent in the 21 July announcement as follows:

• The requirement to satisfy the 30% drop in turnover in all JobKeeper quarters was relaxed to encompass only the quarter preceding the next extension period. Thus, to continue to be eligible for JobKeeper in the December quarter you only need to satisfy the turnover test for the September quarter. Likewise, for the March quarter extension, you only need to satisfy the turnover test for the December quarter (not June + September + December)
• Employees will now be eligible for the JobKeeper extension quarters if they were employed at 1 July 2020 (not 1 March 2020). 

We see both of these changes as very welcome and particularly helpful for Victorian businesses who are going through a very troubled time right now and potentially into the December quarter. The drop in turnover test would have been particularly unhelpful in its previously announced form for these businesses because there would have been the possibility of missing out on necessary support for the December quarter simply because their June quarter turnover had not fallen 30%. The updated employment date to 1 July is also welcome as there has been some employee movement since JobKeeper started and some recovering businesses had been taking on new employees. It would be a disappointing outcome if these employees were left out of the program.

While these changes will benefit businesses in Victoria they apply to all of Australia. 

The Extension and Modification of JobKeeper-21 July Announcement

On July 21, the government announced a proposed extension to JobKeeper (let’s call it JobKeeper 2.0). In summary the proposal (if enacted) provides for:

• JobKeeper to continue to 28 March 2021 in 2 quarterly stages Dec and March quarters;
• Eligibility based on satisfying a 30% drop in actual turnover for each of June and September quarters (over the same quarters the year before) for JobKeeper payments to continue into the December quarter;
• Eligibility based on satisfying a 30% drop in actual turnover for each of June, September and December quarters for payments to continue into the March quarter;
• Payment rate for December quarter reduced from $1500 to $1200 per fortnight for employees working 20 hours per week or more; $750 for those working less than 20 hours;
• Payment rate for March quarter reduced from $1200 to $1000 per fortnight for employees working 20 hours or more; $650 for those working less than 20 hours;
• Weekly hours to be assessed with reference to a February 2020 average;

More precise detail to be shared once legislation has passed through parliament.