JobMaker Hiring Credit – Registrations Now Open

Employers must lodge intention to participate in the scheme by 6 January 2021 if you want to claim for the period beginning 7 October 2020 and ending 6 January 2021.

To do this you will need the following information:

• Headcount at 30 September 2020
• Payroll for the 3 months up to and including 6 October 2020

Scheme Overview

The Federal Government implemented a JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme which will subsidise wages for new employees. The scheme enables eligible employers to claim a payment up to $200 per week, for up to 12 months, for each eligible employee from 7 October 2020 to 6 October 2022.The scheme is an incentive for businesses to employ young people during the COVID-19 economic recovery.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have now opened registrations for eligible employers.

Businesses are encouraged to check their eligibility and register for the scheme.

We have summarised some important information and key dates for the JobMaker Hiring Credit Scheme.

Eligible Employers

• Must be registered with the ATO for the scheme
• Must have STP reporting system in place and provide certain employee information via STP before the reporting deadline (see key dates below)
• Need to hold an ABN and registered for PAYG withholding
• Have not claimed JobKeeper payments for fortnights within the JobMaker period for any individual
• Be up to date with Income tax and GST lodgements
• Obtain JobMaker employee notices from each new additional employee
• Do not belong to ineligible employer categories such as government bodies employers in liquidation and disqualified employers who have manipulated employee numbers in order to exploit the scheme
• Can demonstrate an increase in your employee headcount and employee payroll to prove you are creating new employment positions and not simply replacing employees (see table below)
• Have submitted a notification of election to participate by the end of the first period you wish to claim for

Headcount increase and payroll increase condition

Eligible Employees

• Aged between 16 and 35 at the time their employment with the employer started
• Started employment between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021
• Were eligible to receive income support payments (Youth Allowance, JobSeeker and Parenting Payments) for at least 28 consecutive days within the last 84 days before starting employment
• Completed a minimum average of 20 hours per week during the time they were employed in each JobMaker period. This includes paid leave (annual, sick, public holidays etc.)
• Not receiving JobMaker Hiring Credits payments from another employer
• Does not belong to the following ineligible employee categories:
  • business participants and associates of the employer such as sole traders, partners of a partnership, trustees and beneficiaries of trusts (unless it’s a widely held unit trust) and directors and shareholders of companies (unless it’s a widely held company)
  • relatives of the above
  • contractors and labour hire workers

Registration

• Eligible employers can register from now
• You need to register before you can make a claim
• You can register via the Business Portal
• As part of the registration process, you must provide the following information:
  • number of employees on 30 September 2020
  • sum of your payroll expenses in the last 92 days up to and including 6 October 2020
  • For businesses that started operations after 6 October 2020, figures for both employee headcount and payroll amounts will be zero.

Payments

• All eligible employers will be reimbursed:
  • $200 per week for each eligible additional employee aged between 16 to 29
  • $100 per week for each eligible additional employee aged between 30 to 35
• The age test relates to the date the employee started employment with the employer
• Payments are only available for 12 months for each eligible additional employee between the period 7 October 2020 to 6 October 2022
• The reimbursement is paid by the ATO in arrears following each JobMaker period
• The first quarterly claim period begins from 1 February 2021

JobMaker Key Dates