From the Morrison Government which brought you JobKeeper and JobSeeker comes a new program with a name that won’t surprise you one little bit: JobMaker.
No prizes for guessing what it’s all about either…
Specifically, the Government wants to get the economy making jobs for young people who are currently out of work and on welfare amid the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s how it plans to do that.
JobMaker Overview Video:
JobMaker Hiring Credit guide:
What is the JobMaker Hiring Credit and who gets it?
The first thing to know is that the payment itself goes to the businesses creating the new jobs, not the young people getting those new jobs.
The upshot is that businesses will get $200 a week for each new employee aged between 16 and 29. For new eligible employees aged 30 to 35, they’ll get $100 a week.
The Federal Government says it expects about 450,000 jobs will be supported under the scheme.
However, businesses and employees will need to meet further eligibility requirements to take part.
What are the eligibility requirements?
The main requirement for the new employees is that they must have been receiving one of these three forms of welfare in the three months before they were hired: JobSeeker, Youth Allowance (Other) and the Parenting Payment.
They must also be working at least 20 hours a week on average in their new jobs.
As for the requirements on businesses, they can’t currently be claiming the JobKeeper payment if they want to take part in JobMaker.
The major banks have also been specifically called out as ineligible.
Crucially, businesses do not need to have suffered a fall in turnover to be eligible for the scheme. But the new jobs must be additional — that is, the total employee headcount must have gone up at the business.
Employer Eligibility:https://www.ato.gov.au/general/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit/Employers/Eligible-employers/
Employee Eligibility:
https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobmaker-hiring-credit/Employers/Your-eligible-employees/
How long will this go for?
To be eligible for the new scheme, the new jobs must be created between October 7, 2020 and October 6, 2021.
The hiring credit is then available for 12 months for each of those new jobs (meaning the scheme is set to finally come to an end on October 6, 2022).
JobMaker Hiring Credit key dates:
https://www.ato.gov.au/general/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit-key-dates/
How do I get started?
Employers will be able to register for the scheme from December 7, 2020, via the ATO website.
But don’t worry, businesses don’t need to be registered for the scheme at the time that a new job is created.
Registering for JobMaker Hiring Credit:
https://www.ato.gov.au/general/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit/Register-for-JobMaker-Hiring-Credit/
For further information on JobMaker click the Australian Taxation Office website https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit/
