Data from Ownership Matters shows that nearly 90% of Australian-listed companies that received JobKeeper payments in the first half of 2020-21 booked a profit during the period.
The wage subsidy accounts for more than half the earnings of some companies, including AMA Group and Tyro Payments, while many companies that benefited from JobKeeper also had big dividend payouts.
Ownership Matters director Dean Paatsch also notes that from a governance perspective, listed companies have no obligation to return their JobKeeper payments.
