employee tying shoelace on ute

COVID-19 JobSaver payment

/in , /by

About the COVID-19 JobSaver payment

Program closes 18 October 2021

Various Public Health Order restrictions and COVID-19 border closures have created challenges for many businesses across New South Wales that will either be forced to close or experience reduced demand.

JobSaver will provide cash flow support to impacted businesses to help them maintain their NSW employee headcount on 13 July. The program objective is to help businesses save jobs to support the economy after restrictions are lifted.

Service NSW and Revenue NSW will deliver JobSaver on behalf of the NSW and Commonwealth Governments.

By applying for JobSaver, applicants agree:

  • their application may be subject to an audit by the NSW Government or its representatives and agree to participate in the process if required, and
  • Service NSW and Revenue NSW may use other data provided by applicants to other government agencies to assist with determining eligibility for JobSaver.

A public reporting channel will be established to allow people to report businesses not adhering to these guidelines.

Available funding

  • Eligible businesses and not-for-profit organisations will receive fortnightly payments backdated to cover costs incurred from week-4 of the Greater Sydney lockdown (from 18 July 2021 onwards). The 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant covers the first three weeks of the Greater Sydney lockdown.
  • Eligible businesses and not-for-profit organisations with employees will receive the equivalent to 40% of Weekly Payroll for work performed in New South Wales provided:
    • The minimum payment will be $1,500 per week, and
    • The maximum payment will be $10,000 per week.
  • Eligible businesses and not-for-profit organisations that do not have any employees will receive $1,000 per week.
  • Weekly Payroll should generally be determined by referring to the calculations underlying the most recent Business Activity Statement (BAS) provided to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) prior to 26 June 2021 for the 2020-21 financial year. Item W1 in the BAS includes amounts of wages, salaries and other payments that are subject to PAYG withholding tax (as defined by the ATO).
  • Payments subject to withholding tax in W1 includes allowances, leave loading, director fees and termination payments but does not include payments such as superannuation contributions, amount subject to salary sacrifice, interest or dividends. For the purposes of calculating Weekly Payroll, businesses should deduct amounts from W1 that have been withheld on behalf of contractors under voluntary agreements.
  • Businesses that only operate within New South Wales should first identify the amount reported under item W1 in the relevant BAS and deduct any amounts withheld on behalf of contractors. That amount should be divided by the number of days in the BAS period and multiplied by 7. This will give the Weekly Payroll amount.
  • Businesses that also operate in other states or territories should use the same approach as reporting to the ATO on W1 to calculate the amount of wages, salaries and other amounts paid to employees who usually worked, or were based, in New South Wales during the relevant BAS period. Amounts voluntarily withheld on behalf of contractors in New South Wales should then be deducted. That amount should be divided by the number of days in the BAS period and multiplied by 7. This will give the Weekly Payroll amount.
  • Businesses that do not submit a BAS or have no W1 amount should use the ATO definition of W1  to calculate the total wages, salaries and other amounts, excluding amounts withheld on behalf of contractors, for employees who usually worked, or were based, in New South Wales during the month of April or May 2021. That amount should be divided by the number of days in the month and multiplied by 7. This will give the Weekly Payroll amount.

Eligibility criteria

Businesses and not-for-profit organisations impacted by the Public Health Order will be eligible if:

  • they have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and were operating in New South Wales on 1 June 2021;
  • they had a national aggregated annual turnover of between $75,000 and $50 million (inclusive) for the year ended 30 June 2020;
  • they experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the Public Health Order over a minimum 2-week period within the Greater Sydney lockdown (commenced 26 June and due to end 30 July 2021), compared to the same period in 2019;
  • for employing businesses, they maintain their employee headcount on 13 July 2021 while they continue to receive JobSaver payments (businesses that do not maintain the declared headcount must notify Service NSW); and
  • for non-employing businesses, the business receiving payments must be the primary income source for the associated person. Individuals with more than one non-employing business may only claim payments for one business.

Certain entities, such as those primarily earning passive income (rents, interest, or dividends), government agencies, local governments, banks, and universities are not eligible for JobSaver. The full list of ineligible businesses is at Attachment B

Employees can receive Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payments if their employer is receiving JobSaver.

Non-employing businesses are not eligible for the JobSaver payment if individuals associated with and deriving income from the business have received a Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payment since 18 July 2021.

Read full details at https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/jobsaver-payment-guidelines and call Salisbury’s team for assistance accessing funding on 02 6041 3014.

Source: Service NSW