JobKeeper Registration Open & Updates
as at 20April 2020

The Tax Office has released their much anticipated registration for Employers to receive the JobKeeper payments. We have set out some of the requirements below.

• There must be, or projected to be, a reduction of GST turnover of 30% or more, when compared with the same period last year.

• Turnover is based on one of the following periods. It is not dependent on your BAS reporting period, although this may assist:

• Turnover is based on GST Turnover:
  • Normally an accruals basis of accounting
  • If you are on a cash basis for the GST method, you can choose between accruals or cash basis for calculating turnover
  • Input taxed items (ie export sales, GST Free items, residential rent etc) are not included in the calculations

• Once eligibility for the business is determined, it is set. There is a requirement to report monthly turnover figures to the Tax Office but this will not disqualify a business from being eligible if it has already been determined it is eligible. Having said that, we have no doubt that the Tax Office would request more details if there was something that it determined warranted more investigation.

• If an Employer is not eligible initially, it may become eligible as time goes on. The Employer would only receive reimbursements from when eligibility is established, and not back to 30 March 2020.

• If the Employer is not GST registered, turnover is calculated as if they are GST registered.

• Enrolment for the JobKeeper program closes at the end of May. You must be registered by the end of April to receive payments relating from 30 March to 26 April. Therefore, if an Employer believes they will be affected at some point over the next 6 months, we recommend that the Employer enrols before it is closed. Monthly notifications are part of the process to determine when the Employer is eligible to receive payment.

• Each employee selected by the business must agree to be nominated by the employer. The Tax Office has issued a Nomination Form to be completed by the Employer and each Employee. https://www.ato.gov.au/uploadedfiles/content/cr/d1aab7f2-fbe8-44b8-9ec1-4885ded1088e.pdf

• The eligibility requirements for the Employee are contained within the form which must be agreed to by the Employee.

• Employee eligibility is determined each month. We don't believe a Nomination Form is required each month, more an assessment if anything has changed.

• The minimum gross wage paid to an eligible employee per fortnight is $1,500. PAYG Withholding will come out of the amount.

• Payments to employees need to be made before the end of each fortnight starting from 30 March to 12 April. Actual payment has to take place prior to the end of each fortnight.

• The Tax Office has given a concession for the first fortnight, where if minimum payments were not made prior to 12 April, the Employer can make a top up payment prior to 26 April to ensure $3,000 in gross wages is paid for the first 2 fortnights.

• At a minimum, a declaration to the Tax Office is required at the end of each month stating the eligible payments made and the number for eligible Employees. This can be made via online (via Rudd Hannay, Business Portal) or via single touch payroll. The various software providers are still updating their software to accommodate a declaration via single touch payroll. We expect this update very soon.

• These participants are eligible (subject to below) where the business is eligible per above.

• It is limited to 1 participant per business that is eligible to receive the JobKeeper payment. The payment is received by the business.

• If they receive wages from the business normally, they would be captured as an eligible Employee, and not as an eligible Business Participant.

• The owner, director etc must actively participate in the business. If you are unsure if a person is participating, please contact us.

• The participant selected by the business must agree to be nominated by the Business. The Tax Office has issued a Nomination Form to be completed by the Business and the participant. https://www.ato.gov.au/assets/0/104/300/362/5f4639ad-8475-4d66-a4f3-4ff0ef2d79f7.pdf

• With regards to the Fair Work Act, the rules around redundancies and stand downs still apply so we recommend you discuss with your solicitor/HR Lawyer if you are unsure what your requirements are. We can recommend a specialist Employment Lawyer if need be.

• The Tax Office is committed to tackling illegal behaviour and has set up a tip off line if you are aware of someone doing the wrong thing.