On 21 July 2020 long awaited revisions to JobKeeper were finally announced, however the worsening of the economic situation in Victoria as Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions took place saw the revisions revised yet again on 7 August (and yet again later updated on 10 August – ughhh!!). Here is a quick summary of the main points for businesses with aggregated turnover of less than $1 billion:

JobKeeper is a wage subsidy being a fixed payment of $1,500 per fortnight for fortnights starting 30 March 2020 and ending 27 September 2020. The subsidy is to be paid to an eligible business which is then passed on to an eligible employee. The JobKeeper scheme recognises that certain participants in a business, such as a sole trader, a partner in a partnership, a beneficiary of a trust and a director or shareholder in a company are also affected by the economic downturn caused by the Coronavirus. Accordingly, in order to provide a benefit to such business participants, the Jobkeeper scheme has been extended.