JobKeeper 2.0

A summary of changes announced on 7th August and what you need to know as a small business owner:

Two New Changes:

Relevant date of employment changed from 1 March 2020 to 1 July 2020 (designed to increase eligibility for the existing JobKeeper scheme and the two new extension periods)
Prove that you have experienced the relevant decline in turnover (30% drop) in only the previous quarter (not all previous quarters) to receive the payment
- If you are applying for the extension from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021 – you have to prove your turnover decreased in September 2020 quarter compared to September 2019 quarter.
- If you are applying for the extension from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021 – you have to prove your turnover decreased only in December 2020 quarter compared to December 2019 quarter.

What remains unchanged:

Employers will have to prove a turnover decline again
You will need to reapply to prove you are experiencing hardship again at end of September and then again at start of January
Comparable periods for the turnover decrease are the same quarters in previous years
From 28th September – fortnightly payments for full-time workers is decreasing from $1,500 to $1,200
From 3rd January 2021 – fortnightly payments for full-time workers will drop again from $1,200 to $1,000 a fortnight
Payments for part-time workers are being cut in half
If you were working less than 20 hours a week in February 2020 (pre-COVID) – your payment will drop from $1,500 to $750 a fortnight after September
At the start of 2021 this will drop again to $650 a fortnight
Casual Workers will continue to receive payments depending on how many hours they were working
Casual employees will still need to have been employed for 12 months