Over half of JobKeeper paid to firms that failed turnover test

Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) analysis has found JobKeeper payments worth $38 billion went to businesses that did not suffer sustained downturns below threshold levels. This was from a sample of $72 billion of JobKeeper spending examined by the PBO, meaning 53% of taxpayer subsidies were paid to firms that did not meet turnover thresholds.

Of particular note:

• $1.3 billion went to companies where turnover tripled during the quarter for which they claimed JobKeeper;
• a further $1.3 billion was paid to companies that doubled their quarterly turnover; and
• at least $19 billion went to companies that increased quarterly turnover while receiving the taxpayer support.