JobKeeper 2.0 expands by $15.6bn to support more businesses

The government has approved tweaks to JobKeeper to alleviate the effect of the economic deterioration in Victoria, which will see more firms needing to rely on the wage subsidy, by adding another $15.6 billion to scheme and bringing the total cost of the program to $101.3 billion.

The Treasurer has announced a change to the employee reference date from 3 August 2020 to allow more employees to remain on JobKeeper post 28 September, whereby the relevant date of employment for an eligible employee will move from 1 March to 1 July 2020. 

Moreover, the turnover reference period will be tweaked, meaning that to be eligible for JobKeeper post 28 September, organisations will only have to demonstrate that their actual turnovers have significantly declined in the previous quarter.

As a result, organisations that are able to demonstrate a significant decline in turnover in the September 2020 quarter will be able to access the JobKeeper extension in the December quarter. An organisation able to demonstrate the requisite decline in turnover in the December 2020 quarter would be able to access the JobKeeper extension in the March 2021 quarter. 

It is now expected that around 4 million Australians will be benefiting from JobKeeper payments at the end of the September quarter, falling to around 2.24 million in the December quarter and 1.75 million in the March 2021 quarter.  

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government was doing whatever it took to save lives and save livelihoods.

“Australia is facing a situation that is constantly changing. Our response is to get the right support to all those Australian families, workers and businesses that need us, as these circumstances change,” the Prime Minister said.

“This means more support for more workers and more businesses for longer, as we battle this latest Victorian wave.”