The first period of JobKeeper ends on 27 September 2020. Those needing further financial support will need to reassess their eligibility and prove an actual decline in turnover.
To receive JobKeeper from 28 September 2020, eligible employers need to assess their decline in turnover compared to the prior period with reference to actual GST turnover for the September 2020 quarter (for JobKeeper payments between 28 September to 3 January 2021), and again for the December 2020 quarter (for payments between 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021). The decline test is 30% for the majority of the non-large entities.
From 28 September 2020, the JobKeeper payment rate will reduce and split into a higher and lower rate based on the number of hours the employee worked in a specific 28-day period prior to 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020.
To access JobKeeper payments from 28 September 2020, there are four questions that need to be assessed:
- Is my business eligible?
- Does it meet the new actual GST decline in turnover test?
- Am I and/or my employees eligible? and
- What JobKeeper rate applies?
Eligibility for one JobKeeper period does not entitle you to, or exclude you from, payments in another period. Each eligibility period is addressed separately. That is, there might be businesses that qualified for the first tranche of JobKeeper, who don’t qualify for the second tranche but qualify for the third.
SBP will work with you to assess if your business is eligible and to review your turnover comparison for the decline test. If these measures are satisfied we will then review employee eligibility and rates that apply to each employee.
Next Steps
- The decline test is conducted on actual turnover, so please ensure you close off the month / quarter as early as possible in October.
- Once the month is closed off, or your revenue is finalised please notify your accountant at SBP
- Key dates. Between 1st and 31st October submit the decline in turnover with the ATO
- 31st October – ensure the wage conditions are met for the October fortnights
We have attached a summary of the new jobkeeper rules, if you would like further reading to understand the application. There are alternate test rules available that are fairly detailed and complex, so to avoid an overload of information we will work through these on a case by case basis.
We look forward to assisting you with these matters in the coming month.
Cheers
The SBP Team
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