Treasurer has expanded access to JobKeeper

Today, the Treasurer has expanded access to JobKeeper.

Employees that previously failed the JobKeeper eligibility test as they were not employed on 1 March 2020, may now be eligible for payments from 3 August 2020 if they were employed on 1 July 2020.

To receive JobKeeper from 28 September 2020, employers will need to reassess their eligibility with reference to actual GST turnover for the September 2020 quarter (for JobKeeper payments between 28 September to 3 January 2021), and again for December 2020 quarter (for payments between 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021).

From this date, the JobKeeper payment rate will reduce and split into a higher and lower rate based on the number of hours the employee worked.

To access JobKeeper payments from 28 September 2020, there are two questions that need to be assessed:

• Is your client's business eligible? and

• What JobKeeper rate applies to eligible employees?

We’ve summarised the key details for employers on JobKeeper 2.0 in this client update, but just remember that the proposed changes are not yet law and the details could still change.