JobKeeper extension
Extension
The Act extends the JobKeeper provisions to 28 March 2021.
JobKeeper Payment
The extended JobKeeper payment introduces a two-tier payment and extension system for those businesses that continue to meet the JobKeeper decline in turnover test. This is not set out in the Act but will become law when amendments to the JobKeeper Rules are registered.
Critically, the decline in turnover test will now be based on the actual quarterly GST turnover of the previous quarter for each extension period.
It is proposed that the two tiers will be:
Tier 1: eligible employees who worked at least 80 hours in four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020; and
eligible business participants who were actively engaged in the business for at least 80 hours in February 2020. These eligible business participants must provide a declaration that they worked this amount.
Tier 2: any other eligible employees or business participants. Meaning those who worked less than 80 hours in four weeks before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, such as part-time employees.
Both Tiers allow for those employees who did not meet the 1 March 2020 eligibility requirements to have their eligibility for JobKeeper reassessed.
An employee can now also be eligible for JobKeeper if by the 1 July 2020 (the 1 July Test) they were employed either as a: full-time, part-time or on a fixed-term basis; or were a casual employee employed on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months.
For example, if a business hired a new full-time employee after 1 March 2020, that employee would now be eligible under the 1 July Test. Another example is if a casual employee who was employed on a regular and systematic basis did not have 12 months service by 1 March 2020, but did by 1 July 2020, they would also now be eligible for JobKeeper.