The government has introduced changes to the JobKeeper Payment, making it easier for you and your business clients to qualify. The new rules have now been registered and are effective from 3 August 2020.

From 3 August, the eligible employee test has been extended to include individuals who were employed on 1 July 2020 and are not currently nominated for JobKeeper by another entity. So you can retest staff who failed at 1 March.

The changes to these rules include:

  • employees’ eligibility for the JobKeeper Payment can now be assessed from 1 July 2020, rather than 1 March 2020
  • employees can now be nominated by new employers if their employment has changed since the JobKeeper Payment began. However, they can still only be nominated by one employer at any given time
  • employers have until 31 August 2020 to meet the wage condition for new eligible employees under the 1 July eligibility test for:
    • Fortnight 10 – commencing on 3 August, and
    • Fortnight 11 – commencing 17 August 2020.


Employers have until 31 August 2020 to catch up on wages for FTN 10 for all new eligible employees included under the 1 July eligibility test.

Businesses can claim reimbursement for their new eligible employees between 1 and 14 September 2020, when they lodge their August monthly declaration.
 
Your eligible business and not-for-profit clients can still enrol at any time until the program closes.
 

Eligible employees

  • they were 18 years or older (if they were 16 or 17 they can also qualify if they were independent or not studying full time on 1 July 2020)
  • were an Australian resident under the Social Security Act 1991, which requires they reside in Australia, and are one of: an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, or a Protected Special Category Visa Holder. You can find more information about these requirements from the Services Australia website under residence descriptionsExternal Link. Your employee can also be an Australian tax resident who is a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder. Employees who aren't permanent residents of Australia must notify you of their visa status to allow you to determine if they're eligible for JobKeeper payments

You can't claim for any employees who:

  • were first employed by you after 1 July 2020
  • left your employment before 1 July 2020 (except in limited circumstances)
  • have been, or have agreed to be, nominated by another employer, except in limited circumstances
  • if you are an approved provider of child care services, have ordinary duties relating principally to the operation of those services for a JobKeeper fortnight that commences on or after 20 July 2020



Reference

https://www.accountantsdaily.com.au/columns/14715-unpacking-the-recent-jobkeeper-changes 

https://taxtechnical.com.au/jobkeeper-2-1-and-jobkeeper-1-1-changes-the-government-remains-nimble-but-there-is-much-to-consider/

https://intermediaries.news.ato.gov.au/link/id/zzzz5f3a1dfe8b808148Pzzzz5ef3dd1c5d95e403/page.html

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