JobKeeper 2.0 Released

JobKeeper 2.0 payments, eligibility revealed

JobKeeper payments will drop to between $750 and $1,200 per fortnight beyond September, with eligibility tightened, the government has revealed. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have announced that the current $1,500 per fortnight JobKeeper payment will be reduced to $1,200 per fortnight from 28 September, and $750 per fortnight for employees working less than 20 hours a week.

From 4 January, the rate will again fall to $1,000 per fortnight, and $650 for people working less than 20 hours a week.

The program will run to 28 March 2021, at a further cost of $16 billion, taking the entire JobKeeper program to $86 billion.

New eligibility tests

Treasury had also argued for a fresh eligibility test for businesses looking to remain on JobKeeper beyond September. Businesses will still be required to demonstrate the required reduction in turnover- 30 per cent for businesses with turnovers of $1 billion or less, 50 per cent for those with turnover of more than $1 billion, and 15 per cent for ACNC-registered charities.

However, the government will now require businesses to reapply the tests for the June and September quarters to be eligible for JobKeeper 2.0 beyond September.

While there are currently 3.5 million workers covered under JobKeeper, Treasury expects the new eligibility rules to see the figure fall to just 1.4 million workers for the December 2020 quarter, before dropping to 1 million workers in the March 2021 quarter.

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