The Australian federal government as part of its review of the JobKeeper program has announced payments will be split into two tiers and payments will be gradually reduced from the end of September.
JobKeeper was initially slated to end 27 September 2020. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced today that JobKeeper will continue past this date, with payments split into a tiered system for eligible full-time employees and those working fewer than 20 hours a week.
Full-time employees eligible for JobKeeper payments will receive a reduced amount of $1,200 a fortnight. Eligible employees working fewer than 20 hours per week will receive $750 a fortnight.
The Prime Minister and Treasurer also announced that payments will be reduced again for the January to March 2021 period – to $1,000 and $650 a fortnight, respectively.
The ‘fewer than 20 hours per week’ criteria will be assess based on the average hours worked in the four weekly pay periods before the employee's assessment date (either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020).
The turnover test requirements for employers have also been updated, with
a further ammendment made on 7 August.
Businesses who become eligible at any time throughout the extended JobKeeper period will still be able to apply.
Please consult the
Treasury website for more information about the JobKeeper extension, eligibility and payment rates.