The Treasurer has recently released the Rules relating to the extension of Jobkeeper (referred to as Jobkeeper 2). Jobkeeper 2 will run from 28 September 2020 to 28 March 2021:
- From 28 September 2020, organisations will be required to reassess their eligibility for the JobKeeper extension with reference to their actual turnover in the September and December quarters 2020 compared to comparable periods in 2019.
- From 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021 (Stage One), the payment rate will be reduced to $1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks before 1 March 2020, or 1 July 2020, were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for more than 20 hours per week, and $750 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants
- From 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021 (Stage Two), the payment rate will be $1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who in the four weeks before 1 March 2020, or 1 July 2020, were working for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for more than 20 hours per week, and $650 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants
Eligible employees now include those with a start date prior to 1st July, or those casual employees who have been employed for at least twelve months prior to 1st July. However, the requirement that an eligible employer must have been carrying on a business as at 1st March 2020 remains unchanged.
To be eligible for JobKeeper Payments under the extension, businesses and not-for-profits will still need to demonstrate that they have experienced a decline in turnover of:
- 50 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion;
- 30 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less; or
- 15 per cent for Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission-registered charities (excluding schools and universities).
This new decline in turnover test (the “actual decline in turnover test”) is now based on actual GST turnover for the business rather than projected GST turnover. This includes;
- Stage One of Jobkeeper 2.0, the test is based on the actual GST turnover for the September 2020 quarter; and
- Stage Two of Jobkeeper 2.0, the test is based on the actual GST turnover for the December 2020 quarter
An entity that was entitled and enrolled to Jobkeeper 1 are not required to enrolled again with the ATO for JobKeeper 2.0 if they meet the new eligibility criteria. Those businesses which were not previously enrolled for JobKeeper and meet the new eligibility criteria will need to enrol with the ATO.
If you believe you are entitled to JobKeeper 2.0 based on the new eligibility criteria there are some immediate steps which need to be undertaken prior to 11th October 2020 which is the end of the first eligible fortnight. You will need to;
- Understand and ensure you GST turnover for the September quarter meets the appropriate decline in actual turnover test
- Determine which employees are eligible and which payment tier they fall under
- Make appropriate payments to eligible employees based on their payment tier for the fortnight 28th September 2020 to 11th October 2020.
JobKeeper is and always had been developed to support businesses during these difficult times and the ATO will be conducting eligibility testing in the future to ensure businesses have correctly claimed JobKeeper. If you are unsure or need further information feel free to Contact us now or keep up to date on the Treasury website