Changes to the turnover tests

In order to be eligible for JobKeeper from 28 September 2020, businesses and not-for-profits will have to meet a further decline in turnover test for each of the two periods of extension, as well as meeting the other existing eligibility requirements for the JobKeeper program.

In order to be eligible for the first JobKeeper extension period of 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021, businesses will need to demonstrate that their actual GST turnover has fallen in the September 2020 quarter relative to a comparable period (generally the corresponding quarter in 2019).

In order to be eligible for the second JobKeeper extension period of 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021, businesses will need to demonstrate that their actual GST turnover has fallen in the December 2020 quarter relative to a comparable period (generally the corresponding quarters in 2019).

The ATO will have discretion to set out alternative tests that would establish eligibility in specific circumstances where it is not appropriate to compare actual turnover in a quarter in 2020 with actual turnover in a quarter in 2019.

Businesses and not-for-profits will generally be able to assess eligibility based on details reported in their Business Activity Statements (“BAS”).

As the deadline to lodge a BAS for the September quarter or month is in late October, businesses will need to assess their eligibility for JobKeeper in advance of the BAS deadline in order to meet the wage condition (which requires them to pay their eligible employees in advance of receiving the JobKeeper payment in arrears from the ATO).

To be eligible for JobKeeper under the extensions, businesses will need to demonstrate that they have experienced the following decline in turnover (which remains the same percentage as the existing rules):

• 50% for those with an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion;
• 30% for those with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less; or
• 15% for Australian charities.

Changes to the JobKeeper payment rate

From 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021, the JobKeeper payment rates will be:

• $1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, and for eligible business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 20 hours or more per week on average; and
• $750 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants.

From 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021, the JobKeeper payment rates will be:

• $1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 20 hours or more per week on average; and
• $650 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants.

The ATO will have discretion to set out alternative tests where an employee or business participant’s hours were not usual during the February and/or June 2020 reference periods.

Changes to the employee eligibility assessment

The new reference date for assessing employee eligibility is 1 July 2020.

To determine if employees are eligible, consideration must be given to the following: 

• employees will remain eligible if they have been eligible employees on or before 2 August 2020 using the 1 March 2020 test; or
• they satisfy the new 1 July 2020 test.

The 1 July 2020 test requires that the employee was employed as either a full-time, part-time, fixed-term employee or a long-term casual employee and not a permanent employee of any other employer.

Other criteria apply for these new eligible employees, which include that they must have been 18 years of age or older as at 1 July 2020 and that they meet the criteria of an Australian resident.