News Alert: JobKeeper Extension Rules Relaxed

On the 7th August, the Government announced that the tougher eligibility rules that were due to be in place for the second phase of the JobKeeper payment scheme (from 28 September 2020) would be relaxed. 

The relaxation of the eligibility criteria has been driven by the worsening of COVID-19 outbreaks in Victoria and the negative impacts that the prolonged lockdown measures are having on the economy. 

The key changes are:

• The date of employment will move from 1 March 2020 to 1 July 2020.
• Employers claiming JobKeeper payments will only have to demonstrate they have suffered a decline in turnover (using actual GST turnover rather than projected GST turnover) for the quarters ending in:
  • September 2020 (to be eligible for payments from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021), and
  • December 2020 (to be eligible for payments from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021).

Click here to read our full article reviewing all the changes announced.