It was less than three weeks ago that ACWA conducted its Zoom Workshop on the newly announced Federal Government JobKeeper 2.0. Thank you to the almost 30 members who took part.
As we have found out time and time again during this Pandemic, things can change rapidly.
As a result of the severe COVID-19 breakout in Victoria, and the forced business closures in metropolitan Melbourne, Jobkeeper 2.0 has been tweaked. The good news, however, is that the new conditions may open the door for additional car wash operators to access the scheme.
Let’s take a quick look at JobKeeper to date:
- The Government confirmed that JobKeeper 1.0 would continue to operate on its original terms until it announced expiry date of 27 September 2020.
- On 21 July 2020, the Federal Government announced an extension to the original JobKeeper scheme and introduced JobKeeper 2.0. While it is helpful that the scheme was to be extended, the amount of support that is to be paid to eligible business was to be significantly reduced, and the qualification requirements tightened.
- In August, changes to JobKeeper 2.0 were announced, with rules that take effect from 28 September 2020. In summary:
- There are two further extensions of JobKeeper proposed. They will run for the period of 28 September 2020 until 3 January 2021, and the second 4 January 2021 until 28 March 2021.
- The qualification requirements are more rigorous than JobKeeper 1.0 but less rigorous than those initially announced in JobKeeper 2.0.
- Under the revised qualification requirements, employers wishing to qualify for support during the first extension period until 3 January 2021, will have to show a drop in income of at least 30% in the September quarter 2020 against a similar period, most likely the same period in 2019.
Confused? There’s no need to be because our great friend Graham Lilleyman from ESSA has prepared a fantastic paper explaining all the details.
Simply log in to the Members Only Section of the ACWA website and use the navigation to the COVID-19 Resources area.
