JobKeeper payments

Today the federal government have announced a new wage subsidy package.

The key points include:

• $130 billion committed over the next six months to support jobs of an anticipated 6 million Australians
• A JobKeeper allowance of $1,500 job fortnight (which is a flat payment per employee).
• Available to full and part-time workers, sole traders and casuals who have been with their employer for 12 months or more. Any employee who has been stood down since 1 March will still be eligible for the payment.
• From today, employers and sole traders can apply to ATO, and money will flow from 1 May and be backdated to today
• Business turnover has to have fallen by 30% to be eligible. For the largest firms, it has to be a 50% drop.

The JobKeeper portal has been set up on the ATO website now, where businesses can register their interest immediately.