JobKeeper Payment - Megathread

Hi everyone

There seems to be a number of forums in relation to the Jobkeeper Payment. Rather than having multiple threads, ask me questions in relation to the JobKeeper Payment and I will try my best to answer otherwise hopefully somebody else can as well.

Background: I am an accountant with years of experience

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      • Thanks :)

  • hi,

    I have enrolled my company but noted that there is only one form to keep to my self (Eligible business participant nomination notice).

    Do i as a working director have submit any form or do anything else apart of enrolling my company to the JobKeeper program? If my wage is over $1,000 per week, do I still have to make a JobKeeper payment of $750 per week to myself or is it optional?

    Thank you.

    • Not sure about whether you need to fill out the form to give to yourself - self-employment gets a bit silly like that sometimes.

      As for the second question, in your circumstances, I don't think you'd need to do anything beyond applying for the program.

      Your obligation as an employer would be to make sure every employee you have enrolled for the JK program is being paid at least $1500 per fortnight (before tax). If you're already paying yourself $1000/week, continue paying yourself as you always have, and the government will reimburse you $1500/fortnight.

  • I have been told by a manager at work that top management is going to start asking people to take leave.

    I'm casual so mine would be unpaid. Do I get anything to help?

    • Read the FAQs about it all over the internet.

  • I hope no kids were planning on getting jobkeeper- anyone under 17, currently studying and not financially independent has been cut off. Good.
    https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/treasurer-…

  • Thanks for your generous offer, Riseandfall.

    Q) Legally and ethically, where does an employer stand in requesting staff who've been made redundant sign JobKeeper forms to recoup eligible salary costs prior to severance date? Especially if the redundancy decision came after JobKeeper was announced and they've made no effort to maintain employers jobs.

    Thank you :-)

    • +2

      I don't know about strictly legally, but JobKeeper is to keep people employed, if you have been made redundant than it is against the spirit of the payment. I would be collecting my redundancy payment and flipping the double bird on the forms.

  • i have a cousin working part-time at hospitality industry (housekeeping) he is entitled for jobkeeper as per eligibility. employer is giving him shifts same hours he was getting before the lockdown. but he refused and he only wants to do very few shifts due to corona virus scare and the type of special work hes required to do at moment (frontliners
    to quarantined returning residents from overseas). is he still eligible for jobkeeper under these circumstance? or better yet can his employer fire him for refusing to take more shifts? Thank you

    • -1

      No not eligible, and yes they can fire him.

      Also he is not eligible for JobKeeper if his hours have not been reduced.

      • +1

        That last part isn't correct. His hours are irrelevant - if the business has seen a fall in turnover (of >30%), then they can apply for JobKeeper payments for all employees that are full-time, permanent part-time or casuals who have worked there >12 months.

        • True, I was just working of the assumption that if they have enough work that they have seen no reduction in workload, then the business hasn't lost turnover. Now that I have thought about it further, I realise that might be only one billable client, and the business may have lost others. I apologise, it is a flawed assumption.

          But my first statement, still stands. Just like in normal times, he can be fired for refusing to do his job.

          • +1

            @AdosHouse: Yep, lots of different reasons a business might be suffering a downturn in turnover.

            And you're right, if he's simply refusing to do his job, then he isn't immune to being fired because of it. If he's being asked to do something illegal or dangerous, that's a bit different (and probably a matter for an unfair dismissal claim), but if your job still exists right now, you can't just ask to sit home and get paid through JobKeeper.

            • +2

              @asubtleviolence: He might have a case if his employer is not providing the correct PPE, but only to the point where it is appropriate as said by the government, and not what he thinks it is.

              But from his bosses side of view, if my business is taking a hit, and one of my staff is trying to make it harder for me to keep being sustainable, I would be booting their arse and replacing them very quickly.

              • +3

                @AdosHouse: Yeah I agree. I don't know any details about the work environment or expectations, but if it was reasonably safe and complied with the law, and an employee was just refusing to work and saw JK as a chance to get a 6 month paid holiday, I'd be turfing them too.

  • Hi OP, thanks for doing this.

    I'm a sole trader (IT) and I report on a cash basis.

    Looking at the current state this month I should be at 30% income loss by the end of the month, comparing March to April when reporting on cash basis. If reporting on accruals its more like 50%.

    Do I need to address this based on cash, if I report on a cash basis?

    Can I compare this to the previous month, or does it have to be the same period last year? In which case I'm up in revenue because Easter is dead quiet normally but this year it's business as usual.

    From reading this thread, if I qualify this month and then get an influx of work I still qualify for the entirety of the time that job keeper is around? That seems (profanity) stupid?

    • +1

      You can use the accruals method of accounting to determine downturn, even if you usually use the cash method for your BAS etc, as long as you do that for both the test period and the comparison period.

      The basic tests compare a current period to the same period last year - so you'd compare April 2020 to April 2019 in order to determine if you've suffered a 30% downturn.

      However, there is an alternative test for businesses that have variable income. If you've had a quarter in the past year where you earned <50% than your highest earning quarter, then you can use an average of the last 12 months' turnover as the comparison, rather than using the same period last year. So it would be [past 12 months earnings]/12 compared to March 2020 or April 2020, or [past 12 months earnings]/4 compared to your projection for the April-June 2020 quarter.

      And you're correct about the last part - once you've satisfied a test and been approved for JobKeeper, things can improve in the future and you'll still get the payments til the end of September. It is a little silly on the surface, but I guess it's because 1 month or quarter of huge downturn for a company may well cost them more than 6 months of JK payments multiplied by the number of eligible employees, and they probably don't want businesses laying low for the next 6 months, rather than trying to get back to business as usual, so the government doesn't suddenly cut them off the program.

      • Yeah OK that makes more sense, implications of requiring job keeper and the long term effects.

        Can't compare April to March unfortunately? that'd make me eligible just barely.

        Last year April happened to be quiet (easter) so even with the downturn it's not that different right now. Next month will likely be a different story.

        I don't satisfy the variable income test as above, things are reasonably consistent normally.

        edit:
        Further reading into the rules, I may satisfy a different alternative test.
        https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/In-detail/A…
        https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2020L00461

        Particularly downturn after an increase in income.

        Oct-Dec 2019 and Jan-Mar 2020 have a 21% variance (higher jan-mar), which means the same period last year wouldn't be comparable. In this situation it sounds like I take the Jan-Mar figure, divide it by 3 and that's my comparison income amount for April 2020. Am I interpreting this correctly? Might give the ATO a call to discuss before putting forward a claim.

        • Yep, I was about to suggest checking the substantial growth alternative test before you edited your post.

          If you can show that you've had >50% growth over the last 12 months, >25% growth over 6 months, or 12.5% over 3 months, then you can use the last quarter (Jan-Mar 2020) as your comparison period.

          I think you could then take the average of those last 3 months and compare it to April 2020, and if you can show a 30% decrease in turnover that way, you should be in.

          • @asubtleviolence: Sounds like I'm in.

            You want to know the ironic thing? That 21% increase in income is largely due to the additional work that was required to implement systems to help people work from home. So the additional income from covid19 has allowed me to be eligible for job keeper.

            I'll probably need it if clients start going out of business anyway.

            • @knk: Brilliant.

              Yeah, we're heading into a recession (if we aren't there already) and things are going to be pretty uncertain. Hopefully you won't end up being affected by everything going on, but if you are, having some guaranteed JK payments coming in will be really helpful.

              • @asubtleviolence: Yep - that ~$15k over the 5 months I'm eligible could come in handy if my clients start dropping.

                Hopefully not.

                FWIW I double checked all of the above with a book keeper and it seems everything we've discussed is above board from her perspective as-well.

                Thanks for the information mate.

  • Can anyone link me to the official info that says you only need to qualify in the first month e.g March or April to be eligible for the remaining six months? (I already do qualify in April 2020 compared to April 2019)
    On the ATO website it says you need to reconfirm eligibility each month?

    I'm a sole trader and have had very variable and small income last year and only really geared up after October 2019…

    • Step 3 on this page:
      https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/Sole-trader…

      You don't need to retest for a downturn in turnover after being approved for the JobKeeper program.

      The part about reconfirming eligibility each month is referring to reconfirming that your employees/business participants are still active (e.g. employees haven't resigned or been terminated, etc). You'll also need to provide details on your current/projected income for the month, but they say that isn't a retest.

      As long as you keep working as a sole trader (or at least keep the business in operation if you can't actively work), you'll be fine.

      • Thank you so much - that makes my life much easier! :)

      • With your last comment about keeping a business in operation, is a temporary pause on a business until this all over allowed or does a sole trader need to keep taking appointments? Trying to work out the best thing to do with our small sole trader business.

        • I don't think you actually have to be actively doing anything (e.g. taking appointments) - by keeping the business in operation I moreso just meant keeping an active ABN etc.

  • My son has (along with all full time staff) been asked to fill out a JobKeeper Employee Nomination notice, https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/JobKeeper-payment---employee-no…. They need it by the 29th.
    It seems like its the correct proceedure but I don't really know.
    What do you think?

    The company got rid of all casuals (I think actually they may get 1 day a week) and all full time staff were asked to go to 32 hours instead of 40, pay reduced as well.
    It sounds OK, better than zero hours like a lot of people. The work (retail) has really dried up so 32 hours seems like the company is trying to look after them.

  • -1

    So I am a sole trader that does contract work for a company which has temporarily suspended all contractors from working. My income has gone from $6k/month to $0. I also work part time at a shop where I get around 6 hours/week of work. Am I eligible? And if I switch to be a casual employee would that change anything?

    • Your sole trader business should be eligible for JobKeeper. I don't know the ins and outs of your business so I can't say for certain (there are several conditions determining eligibility), but broadly speaking, if you've seen your income fall like you described, you'll be eligible. The main eligibility check is demonstrating a significant fall in income (30% or more) - the easiest way you'd satisfy that would be to show that your projected income for April 2020 is down >30% against your income in April 2019. Alternatively, you could compare your projected income for April-June 2020 as a quarter to April-June 2019 as a quarter.

      Failing that, there are alternative tests you can look into if you weren't yet in operation in 2019, or your business has been growing since that time, or you have highly variable income, but if you can satisfy one of the simple tests, you're in.

      The government will only pay JobKeeper once per individual, so if you claimed through your sole trader business (which would be the best option), then your employment conditions/status at the shop would be irrelevant, because they can't apply for JobKeeper payments for you also. You'd just need to decide what worked best for you going forward, casual or permanent part-time, as each has its benefits and drawbacks.

    • -2

      A sole trader can't receive JobKeeper if they are a non-casual employee or another entity.

      If you are a casual on 1 March you can choose to claim it as an employee or a sole trader.

      Changing to a casual now will not help.

      Unfortunately you are not eligible.

      • From my reading, the "not an employee (other than a casual employee) of another entity" test applies at the time of nomination, not as at March 1. I'm not sure which job oscinator is changing to casual, but I'm assuming it's job 2.

        Current Job 1: Sole trader
        Current Job 2: Permanent part time

        At the moment, you're right, they can only claim jobkeeper through Job 2. If they were somehow able to change Job 2 to casual, then they could potentially nominate themselves through the sole trader after that goes through. There are some possible hurdles though:
        - Why would the Job 2 employer go through the administrative burden of converting you over, including revised contract and having to pay out your current entitlements (annual leave) when changing you to casual? I suspect they would not be impressed at the extra expenditure
        - You'd be at a higher risk of just getting no income from job 2 as you are now no longer guaranteed shifts…

  • Hi OP, Thanks for this.

    I run my business through a trust and satisfy the conditions of the program. I am the director and and run the company my self so I have applied as an entity.

    Are the answers for the following questions correct?

    Number of eligible employees who have been or will be remunerated
    $1,500 or more (this may include wages, tax and salary-sacrifice
    super) for JobKeeper fortnight one (30 March - 12 April)
    ANSWER: 1

    Number of eligible employees who have been or will be remunerated
    $1,500 or more (this may include wages, tax and salary-sacrifice
    super) for JobKeeper fortnight two (13 - 26 April)
    ANSWER: 1

    I assumed it would be 0 as I don't have employees but that answer is not allowed.
    So I added 1. Is it 1 because I'll be receiving the payment?

    • That was a bug.

      When my friend did it Friday night it was fixed and allowed 0 to be used.

  • Hi,

    My employer owes a reasonable amount of backpay to its staff as the result of recent contract negotiations.
    The employees have now been stood down and are eligible for Jobkeeper payments.

    As no one is working, is my employer legally allowed to 'pay' their employees their backpay in $1500 fortnightly increments?

    This would mean they are clearing their debt owed to employees without being out of pocket, while employees are receiving their JobKeeper payments but losing the backpay owed to them.

    • +4

      No, that sounds very illegal.

      Business must pay the back-pay AND continue paying them by the JobKeeper requirements.

  • For Sole Trader business.

    If in the month of March and April, both months the sales are down, but less than 30% compared to the year before.

    In the month of May, if the sales are down more than 30%. Would I able to claim the Period from May to September on a pro rata basis or whatever is remaining of the JobKeeper program?

    • Try using April to June full quarter to calculate. Or else compare May 2019 with May 2020.

    • If pick May, you will be paid from May not 31 March I think. Better pick April-June.

      • Yes right

      • I am not sure when combining April May June sales we will see a total sale down of 30% combined though, as anything can happen for the next 2 month due to we are in uncharted areas…………..

        If picking May, does that mean I will miss out the payment for the Month of March and April? Means I will only get 4 months of JobKeeper payment instead?

        • 1 Month only April, Payment starts from March 31.

          • @saimone: Oh I I can get 5 month of jobseeker and not 4 month using the situation above?

  • Hi,
    I have an issue with JobKeeper at the moment and hope you could help. I have a 16 yo casual employee who has been with me for 1.5 year. I made the Jobkeeper payment to her on last Thursday. On the next day 24Th of April, the goverment announced that they will amend the rules to exclude all full time students who are 17 and under ( not financially independent) . The question is will she have to pay back all the JK money or the new rule will be effective from the next pay cycle ??

    Thanks

    • +1

      https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-…
      “The rules will provide that full time students who are 17 years old and younger, and who are not financially independent, are not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment. This clarification will apply prospectively, which would mean an eligible employer that has already met the wage condition of paying such an employee $1,500 for a fortnight could be entitled to a JobKeeper Payment in arrears for that fortnight.”
      I’m no lawyer but I think that means you could be reimbursed still for payments made under the old rules as it’s not retrospective.

    • She gets whatever you've already paid her as a gift from the taxpayer and nothing more thank goodness.

  • My employer recently asked everyone in the office to work for 4-days a week & apply for JobKeeper.

    I'm confused with the salary now, will I just receive $1500 fortnightly?
    Or will I also receive 4-days salary each week on top of the JobKeeper allowance?

    • If you previously made less, you'll now make $1500.

      Or will I also receive 4-days salary each week on top of the JobKeeper allowance?
      No. Your employer will just pay the difference between your salary and the JobKeeper's $1500.

  • Hi all - I’m trying to interpret the significant increase in turnover test and sought others opinions.

    The wording of the test is:
    The entities turnover substantially increased by 25% or more in the 6 months immediately before the applicable turnover test period.

    If I’m using April 20 as the test period does this mean:

    I compare the 6 months turnover between Oct 2019 - Mar 2020 (the most recent 6 months) to Apr - Sep 2019 (the prior 6 months)?

    E.g if I turned over $100 in Apr - Sep 19 and $200 in Oct 2019 - Mar 2020 - that’s a 100% increase?

    OR is it a comparison of monthly turnover between Oct 2019 and Mar 2020?

    I think it’s the first interpretation but want to be sure.

    Edit - it looks like Knk is using the same methodology (albeit comparing 3 month periods against each other in their case).

    • +2

      Yeah my understanding of it is grab your comparison period and divide it by 3 or 6 etc and then use that as your comparison figure for this / last month / whenever you will qualify.

    • If I’m using April 20 as the test period does this mean:

      I compare the 6 months turnover between Oct 2019 - Mar 2020 (the most recent 6 months) to Apr - Sep 2019 (the prior 6 months)?

      For determining that you've had 'significant growth', I believe so yes. If you can show a >50% growth between those 6 month windows, that would make you eligible to use the alternative test.

      If you're using April 2020 as your test period, you can then compare your projected/actual turnover in the month of April to the average monthly turnover of the first quarter of 2020 (i.e. January, February and March 2020 total turnover divided by 3). If you can show a downturn of at least 30% in that comparison, you're eligible for JK.

  • Sorry never been on the Centrelink benefit so I am still confused about all this:

    My partner said I will only get $550 Coronavirus Supplement fortnightly if I am already on the JobSeeker payment.

    The $550 Coronavirus payment is on top of what I get on the JobSeeker payment.

    Say I get $150 fortnightly payment from the JobSeeker, I will get another $550 Coronavirus Supplement on top of what I get from the JobSeeker payment. Is this correct?

    Also can both me and my partner get the Coronavirus Supplement payment or is only 1 person per household?

    As we still have a business earns some small income (our business is around 25% down on average for March and April), does that mean my JobSeeker payment will be reduced due to the business income, but my Coronavirus Supplement still stays the same at $550? Is this correct? Thanks many for helping, very confused with this whole thing even after reading many articles…….

    • -4

      You cant get the job seeker and the corona supplement at the same time

  • Can an employee working two permanent part time jobs be eligible for jobkeeper at their second part time job even though the first part time permanent job is considered their 'primary' place of employment? (works 2 days at 2nd job and 3 days at first of which first job is not an eligible employer but second is)

    Thanks

    • Yes.

  • Does anyone know if annual leave still accrues while on job keeper ?

    I have read also super is not payable while on job keeper also

    • "Does anyone know if annual leave still accrues while on job keeper ?"

      Yes, it does (in most cases). If your hours have been reduced by the employer through a "jobkeeper stand down" as per the legislation, then you will earn annual leave on your "normal" hours (pre stand down).

      However, if you are on unpaid leave at the moment (e.g. unpaid maternity leave, outside of the standard govt paid parental leave window but within the 12/24 months that you are allowed to take unpaid leave) and are eligible for and paid jobkeeper, then you will continue to earn no annual leave as per normal.

      "I have read also super is not payable while on job keeper also"

      It is not payable on the "top up" amount (i.e. the money that does not correspond to hours worked). However, if you are working some hours, then you will earn super on the hours that you have worked (unless you fall under the $450 per month threshold I guess - EDIT- SEE BELOW). E.g. if you have worked $1000 in a fortnight - your employer will pay you $1500 (with the jobkeeper topup), and you will earn $95 in super (9.5% of the $1000 that you actually worked).

      Note - the superannuation guidelines for JK have apparently not been finalised, according to the ATO - https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/Employers/P…, but the intent is that super is not paid on the topup payments as it does not relate to OTE.

      EDIT: Actually, I appear to be wrong about the threshold. The $450/month threshold is based on gross earnings, so all employees on JK should be eligible for super on the hours they actually worked, no matter how few hours that is (barring some other exclusion to earning super). It means if you previously earned (say) $200 a fortnight, you would not be paid any super. But now with JK, if you keep actually working the same amount, you should be paid $19 (9.5% of $200) of super every fortnight as your gross pay with JK topup exceeds the threshold.

  • Merged from Will Applying Jobkeeper Payments Affect My Future Home Loan Application?

    Hi guys

    Not sure if anyone already asked this. Worried about future credit rating by applying the Jobkeeper payments.

    Thanks

    • How can anyone afford to apply for a mortgage on a jobkeeper/jobseeker income?

      • Hi sorry I should have clarified, my employer is urging us to apply for the jobkeeper payments hence I wanted to know if there are any consequences of doing so.

        • +2

          Employee cannot apply for Jobkeeper. Are you sure you are not being fired and employer is urging you to apply for Jobseeker instead? In that case you don't have a job and I'd be more worried about that than some hypothetical future home loan application.

          • +1

            @lubos:

            Employee cannot apply for Jobkeeper

            Employees still need to fill out and sign a government form, otherwise the employer cannot get JobKeeper for that employee.

            If that's not "applying for JobKeeper", then the meaning of the word "apply" must have changed since I went to school (admittedly a long long time ago).

            • @pjetson: Employees have to provide consent through a nomination form to allow the employer to apply for JobKeeper for them.

              The money is paid to Employer; not directly to Employee. The employee will receive their usual wages (if above $1500) or $1500 (if wages are below). Should have no impact to credit ratings at all.

    • It won't do anything to your credit history.

      If anything, it'll indirectly impact your application by showing reduced income/employment history information. But it's better to be showing an income rather than nothing at all for the period.

      So worst case, you'll just have to be employed at your "usual" level of income for at least the period that they want income/employment details for when you lodge your application.

  • +1

    Does anyone know what defines a 17 year as "finacially independent"?

    • Paying rent on a lease agreement. Even if you live at home (with parent(s)) but pay board, the govt. Won't find you financially independent.

    • +1

      Note that no where in any fact sheets, press releases or legislation have they included a definition of financially independent. It is up to the employee to decide if they are financially independent at this point in time.

      • And pray the ato doesn't issue a robodebt later….

        • +1

          I don't see any grounds on which they could. Financially independent is very subjective and they have given no criteria.

          Either way no loss, can pay back on a payment plan

          • @realfancyman: Centrelinks definition is that you have supported yourself through working (more than 20 hours a week) for 18 months or more.

            • @Quantumcat: Yep but this is the ATO not Centrelink

              • @realfancyman: It is all one government though. It would be strange to have the same term, in one department have a definition for it, in the other no definition, and then expect people to interpret it differently.

                • @Quantumcat: Agreed, but as with contracts, in law subjective terms also need to be specifically defined for them to be enforced. I suspect this was intentional to allow a way for students to still access the payments if they truly need them, but we will see when the legislation is updated.

  • My hours have been cut from 38 hours per week to 20 hours and workplace has started jobkeeper from now. So essentially the business is not paying any wages and the jobkeeper is covering the wages, the reason why business reduced hours in the first place. Is this legel?

    • +2

      Yes. The Jobkeeper program isn't just the $1500 per fortnight payment, Jobkeeper includes provisions that allow the employer to reduce people's hours and/or change their duties (these are referred to as Jobkeeper enabling directions in the legislation/rules).

      • Thank you for the reply. Found the jobkeeper enabling directions :)

  • So from reading here and the actual question on the form, as a sole trader my April is a bit over April last year, but May and June now is looking bad, so will easy be 30% down on the quarter. So choose April, it does say about 30% down in the quarter in the question?

    Also still not sure the benefit of paying my Account $275 when i have it setup myself and just need to hit submit? Anyone know?

    • Also still not sure the benefit of paying my Account $275 when i have it setup myself and just need to hit submit?

      Can you explain what you mean by this?

      • My Account quoted me that for them to do it for me.

        • Oh I see, you mean accountant. It's very easy to do yourself, no need to pay accountant

  • Time for a stupid question!
    If you are a sole trader and have really variable income ranging from $300 a month to $5000 a month… And you have already met the basic loss of income test in April 2020 ($300) even though you had hardly any income at the same time last year (April 2019 -$500)
    Can the government make you use alternative tests or is passing the first test enough?

    • +1

      I haven't seen any evidence that they'd force you to use an alternative test. Everything in the documentation suggests the opposite - if you pass any of the tests (basic or alternative), you're eligible, even if you'd fail other tests.

      • Thank you again! That is what i had thought but then i got scared at the possibility of it happening and having to pay it all back :/

  • +1

    Hours have already been reduced, place of work changed, some duties altered (minor issue), but still earning >$1500. Employer is eligible and asked all employees to nominate for JobKeeper.

    Is there any benefit to the individual in applying for JobKeeper since it will not change take-home pay, or any work conditions?
    I realise it helps the employer (free money for them), as well as the ability to issue "JobKeeper Enabling Directives".

    Furthermore, is it actually against disadvantageous to nominate for JobKeeper given the directives are broader than Fairwork stand down provisions? In other words, does accepting JobKeeper put one in a more vulnerable legal position regarding acceptable work practices?

    • +1

      Your work might make you redundant if they can't afford to pay you

  • I work two jobs. One as an employee and another as a sole trader (with an ABN). Due to the COVID-19, I had no work as a sole-trader but was still employed. Would I be eligible for the Job Keeper payment?

    • You will not be eligible for your sole trader business.

      You may be eligible as an employee if your employer is eligible.

  • Hi guys
    Became a sole trader (sub contractor) as of Beginning of Feb 2020 with my own ABN . Previously was an employee under the company doing the same job. Then this COVID19 situation occurred and haven’t been working as much. So Income is significantly
    down now. However given that I’m now a sole trader with my own ABN, but only since Feb 2020.. would I still be able to apply for job keepers for myself? If yes how would I show that the income is down 30%? Given that my sole trader business only started in Feb 2020?

    • I’m in the same situation. Would love to hear response

    • +1

      If your business was registered before March 1st, you can still apply for JobKeeper. You should be eligible under the alternative test that covers businesses which were not yet in operation for the relevant comparison period(s) in 2019.

      The actual legislation for the JK alternative tests is worth a read:
      https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2020L00461

      Towards the start of that document there is a section labeled 'Alternative decline in turnover tests' - the first subheading ('Business commenced') in that section covers your specific scenario and how you calculate a relevant comparison period for the test depending on when your business started.

      You should be able to calculate an average monthly turnover based on the financials you have since starting the business (up to March 1st), then if you can demonstrate a 30% downturn in April (or project a 30% downturn in the April-June quarter) compared to that figure, you should be eligible.

      • thank you for point that out.
        so say for example.. business started 14 Feb 2020
        Feb monthly income - $2,000 (just an example, not representing an actual figures but purely to get an understanding)
        Mar monthly income - $2,000
        April monthly income - $1,900
        May monthly income - $1,700
        June monthly income - $1,000

        As the business was only commenced Feb, and income holding ok until June… and then the significant drop in June. Would this then qualify as JobKeepers under sole trader?
        Also would the Job keeper be back tracked from when it was introduced or only ongoing from June?
        Thanks for your help in helping me understand this

        • +1

          If your business was started on 14 Feb 2020, then it looks like this clause kicks in:

          (b) if the entity started business before 1 March 2020, but on or after 1 February 2020, the entity’s current GST turnover before 1 March 2020, divided by the number of days the entity was in business and multiplied by 29.

          So I think you would take your total turnover from 14 Feb to 29 Feb (the day before 1 March) and then divide that by the number of day's you'd been in operation (16) and multiply that by 29. That figure would by your 'current' GST turnover for purposes of comparison.

          With JobKeeper, once you can demonstrate a 30% downturn, you will be eligible for the payments from that month onward (until the program ends in late September). If you can demonstrate a fall in March or April, then you'll be eligible for the entire 6 months, otherwise it will be from the month you can demonstrate downturn onward (businesses which were started as recently as yours can't use a quarter as a comparison period, it seems, based on the legislation). In your case, if you can't show a 30% decrease until June, then you would lodge an application in June and you'd receive 4 months of JK. I think you'd be back-paid to the start of June, but not all the way up to the start of the program (end of March).

          I'm not entirely sure if you'd keep using the comparison figure from February if comparing to, say, June, or if you could compare to more recent months. That might be a question for the ATO or an accountant.

          Another thing worth mentioning is that you can use an accruals method of accounting (rather than a cash one) when calculating your turnover for the purposes of showing downturn in a JK test, so you can consider any income you make to belong to the period it was invoiced, rather than when it was actually paid. If there's a lag between when you invoice and when you actually get paid, using accruals might help you qualify for JK a bit sooner. There may be no difference, I don't know details about your situation, but worth keeping in mind.

          I think you should start by calculating what your comparison figure is going to be (the stuff I mentioned in the first 2 paragraphs) and that should give you a clearer idea of what downturn actually looks like in your circumstances (a >30% fall from that figure in a calendar month).

  • Does anyone know for husband and wife both losing incomes with one been laid off and the other business is down in sales……..

    Can one person receive the JobKeeper and the other receive the JobSeeker?

    Or is it one payment per household only?

    • +3

      There's no partner test on JobKeeper and JobSeeker has a partner income test of nearly $80k PA. So unless the person getting JobKeeper is still earning $80k PA then yeah, you can get both.

    • +1

      My understanding is that an individual cannot claim both but can only claim one of these.

      So if you were both previously working and have been effected then you can individually claim.

      Just remember it is the employer that claims the Job Keeper and passes this onto the employee.

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