Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg officially announced that a $1,500 a fortnight “job keeper” wage subsidy will be paid to businesses to ensure they retain staff. The particulars of the agreement are as follows:
- The wage subsidy package will cost $130 billion over six months.
- Six million Australians are expected to utilise the scheme.
- Every Australian worker that qualifies is treated the same, regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time, sole trader, or casual.
- Business turnover will need to have fallen by 30% or more to be eligible for the scheme.
- It is available to workers stood down from 1 March 2020.
- The scheme will be delivered and enforced via the ATO to ensure that businesses pass on the payments to employees. This will relieve pressure on Centrelink.
- Employees will be required to liaise with employers to receive the payments.
- Those unemployed and whom do not qualify for this scheme will have to apply to Centrelink for the separate “Jobseeker” (formerly Newstart) payment, which was temporarily doubled to $1100 as part of the second stimulus package.
While the Morrison Government’s wage subsidy scheme is certainly welcome, and is a big step forward, it is still far too complicated.
