Businesses significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can access a wage subsidy scheme from the Federal Government to continue paying their employees with the aim of keeping people in their jobs until the crisis has ended. It’s the new JobKeeper subsidy. Eligible employers will be able to access $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee for up to 6 months from pay periods starting on 30 March 2020. For more details on eligibility refer the Government website at https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/businesses#jobkeeper
STOP PRESS: The JobKeeper scheme has been extended to include sole traders and other active participants which are not employees such as: one active partner in a partnership; a director or shareholder in a company, or an adult beneficiary of a trust, provided of course that the business has suffered a significant reduction in turnover of at least 30%. There is an alternative test to the 30% test if the business has recently started or has other particular circumstances that the Commissioner can take into account in applying the Commissioner’s discretion to allow eligibility.
