JobKeeper Payment Legislation Summary

Carmen Lawson • April 13, 2020

Update to JobKeeper details after legislation on 8th April

Entitlement

There are only two points to be entitled to the JobKeeper payment as a business. These being that you:

• Must have carried on a business in Australia on the 1st March 2020
• Must have satisfied the decline in turnover test (30% for most businesses or an Alternative test per below)

Carried on a business

This means that you don’t have to have employed staff. Business owners are eligible

This is limited to one person (so no more than one business owner is eligible). It does not matter if both yourself and your spouse work in the business, only one business owner will be eligible for the payment.

You can also be trading in a Trust, Sole Trader, Partnership or Company to be eligible (i.e. not just for sole traders).

If you are in this category, the eligible person is as follows:

Sole Trader The entity (yourself)

Partnership - One partner in the partnership
Trust - An adult beneficiary of the Trust (no children)
Company - A shareholder in or a director of the company

Turnover Test

30% decline in Turnover

The main point here is to you need to be able to show a 30% decline in turnover (total sales as you would report on your BAS) – so all GST reportable income. To calculate the 30% decline – it is taken from the comparative Month/Quarter in the 2019 year. For example, if your sales in April 2019 was $100,000 – 30% of this is $30,000, so sales for April 2020 would have to be less than $70,000 to be eligible. The turnover is your ‘GST Turnover’. Therefore, if you report your BAS on a cash basis (sales received by you), this is the basis that you must report your test period on. If Accruals (sales incurred/invoiced, but not necessarily paid), then your test period must be Accrual sales.

Decline in Turnover – Test periods

Ok, so you must demonstrate that you have had a 30% or more decline in turnover for a specific test period. The tests periods can be for a calendar month (not 4 weeks) and can only be for a period after 30th March 2020 (so the full months of either March, April, May, June, July, August, September 2020). Or a quarter beginning 1st April 2020 (June Qtr) or 1st July 2020 (September Qtr).

The big thing here is that you only have to show a single month (or quarter) decline to be eligible from that month (or quarter) onwards. So, if you don’t show decline in March don’t worry – you may show it in say May. If this is the case you will be eligible for May, June, July, Aug & Sept payments. You don’t have to pass the test again to get the future months payments.

Decline in Turnover – Alternative decline period

If your business does not have a realistic test period, for example your business was new in the 2020 year, or your business suffered in the 2019 year say from drought or bushfires or something else that was out of your control, you can apply to the Commissioner to use an alternative test period. This may be the 2018 year or a prior month (if your business is new).

Time period of JobKeeper payments

Starts on the pay week beginning 30th March 2020 and will end on the 27th September 2020.

Eligible Employees

These are as follows:

• Individuals who is employed by the entity at any time in the fortnight

• They must have been aged 16yrs or over on the 1st March 2020 and be an Australian resident (or hold a Subclass 444 special category visa)
• They must have been employed by your business on the 1st March 2020 (so doesn’t cover new employees)
• If they are casual employees, they must have been employed by the business for 12 months prior to the 1st March 2020.
• They employee can not be nominated for the payment more than once (so no other employer is receiving the payment for this employee).
• They also can’t be on Parental Leave, Dad & Partner pay, totally incapacitated for work throughout the fortnight (no sick leave in the fortnight) or receiving payments under Workcover.

How Much and When Is It Paid?

Amount

We all know this is $1,500 per employee (including the business owner) per fortnight.

This is the minimum and the maximum amount. Therefore, the amount of wages paid to an employee must be $1,500 per fortnight.

If you do not pay your employee this amount, you will not be entitled to claim the JobKeeper payment AT ALL for that employee (You cannot get portions of this amount).

Therefore, you must ensure that your employee’s pays are ‘topped up’ to the $1,500 a fortnight pay.

Understand this is PER FORTNIGHT not $750 per week. The pays can vary per week, so long as the fortnight’s total pay add up to $1,500.

When is it Paid?

The JobKeeper payment will be paid to you shortly after the end of each calendar month (so first payment beginning of May, another beginning of June, then July, August, September and finally October 2020).

The payments will include the fortnights ended within that calendar month. These will be paid in arrears, meaning that you must register what you have paid your employees the month before (usually via your Single Touch Payroll program) to then get the payment made to you the following month. You will have to have cashflow available to you in the month of April to cover these pays in April.

You must notify your employee in writing

You must notify your employee in writing that you have given their details to the ATO and that you are enabling that employee to be eligible for the JobKeeper payment.

The employee is also required to provide a notice to their employer agreeing to the following:

• To be nominated by the employer as an eligible employee under the JobKeeper Scheme

• That they confirm they have not agreed to be nominated by another employer; and

• That they do not have permanent employment with another employer if they are employed as a casual employee

I have attached a sample of wording that I would use for this purpose.

Note – it is up to the employee which employer they chose to receive the JobKeeper payment from (it is not the employer’s choice).

Also, as a side note, the payment will come directly to you as an employer (not to the staff at all). It is a reimbursement payment to you.

The JobKeeper fortnights

The eligibility is per the below fortnights. If your fortnightly pays don’t fall on these end dates, then you may have fortnightly pays that are ineligible for the JobKeeper payments (as you need to have a full fortnight of pay included). This may be a little messy. It may be easier to change your fortnightly wage periods to run in line with the ATO’s fortnights. I would need to find out more on how strict they are with this one.

April Fortnights - 12/04/2020 & 26/04/2020
May Fortnights - 10/05/2020 & 24/05/2020
June Fortnights - 7/06/2020 & 21/06/2020
July Fortnights - 05/07/2020 & 19/07/2020
August Fortnights - 02/08/2020, 16/08/2020 & 30/08/2020
September Fortnights - 13/09/2020 & 27/09/2020

Superannuation Obligations

As an employer, you are still required to pay superannuation on your employee’s gross ordinary earnings even if payments are made under the JobKeeper arrangements.

Superannuation obligations do not form part of the JobKeeper minimum payment of $1,500.

If your employee in a normal circumstance earns under $1500 per fortnight and you have increased their wages to a minimum $1500 per fortnight. It is up to the employer if they pay superannuation on the extra amount that you pay the employee to be eligible for the JobKeeper payment. For example, if their normal fortnightly pay is $1,000 gross and you have increased their pay by $500 per fortnight to be eligible for the JobKeeper payment, you do not have to pay superannuation of the extra $500 (you do however need to pay the superannuation on the normal $1000 gross payment).

Overpayments

There is details in the legislation for the requirement to payback any JobKeeper payments that you have received but may not have been eligible for. This could happen because the proof of your reduction in income is based on your estimates for April whereas actuals may not have resulted in a loss of turnover.

You could also be required to payback the payments if the Commonwealth sees fit that you contrived schemes aimed at falsely making an entity entitled to the payment. We strongly believe that the ATO in the coming year will actively target audits towards these businesses.

The ATO will charge interest and backdate this interest to the first payment date of the JobKeeper payments.

Reporting Requirements

The ATO will require you to report on the current month’s turnover together with an estimate of your future months projected GST turnover. If you anticipate your future months turnover to increase, this does not mean you will not be eligible for the JobKeeper payment. The future months predictions are for the Commonwealth to ascertain the economic impact of the Coronavirus on a monthly basis across Australia.

Registration

If you believe that you are entitled, you need to register with the ATO (registration is via the ATO’s website at www.ato.gov.au). You can not wait until the end of the periods to register – as the payments are meant to assist with your business throughout the period – not after the end of the period.

We will have a look at each of our clients that we prepare BAS’s for to let you know if we believe that you are entitled or not. If we don’t prepare your BAS’s and have questions, please let us know. The ATO has not yet released the actual form that you will be required to complete yet. Once this becomes available (should be very soon) we will let you know – but we anticipate that once you are registered the ATO will automatically issue you with the required form.

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2026/27 Federal Budget

By Daniel Foelz • May 13, 2026

Carmen's Message: Yesterday, I started my day with an interview on the ABC radio and was feeling pretty good about myself (I mean the ABC wanted to interview me!! We won’t mention that I don’t think anyone listens to ABC radio, but still...). My only stress was the hedge man was coming to trim my hedges, and I wanted to talk to him about some trees. Life was good, Friday I was going to the farm to tag some sheep. Then I woke up this morning (I admit, I didn’t watch the budget) and my life has now changed, and real stress is coming my way. The Family Trust 1000 - 2026 Died aged 1026, dearly loved and always remembered Back in medieval England the humble trust was born. Moving gracefully into colonial times in Australia before it was tidied up and legislated in 1925. Our government has now killed it in one swoop of their axe. Because that is how big and powerful they are. Over 1000 years of humbly always being there to ensure small business and taxes were fair and reasonable. An Accountants only weapon for small business that was in our arsenal has now been confiscated. Please understand that it will be some time before we actually get the law and work out what is our best plan of attack moving forward, but know that I aggressively support small business and will work out the best scenio we can to combat this. It will mean restructuring and costs and time that we all don’t have. But just be prepared. CGT Apparently, the solution to Australia’s housing issues is making investing less attractive while simultaneously wondering why nobody builds anything. This Government is so out of tune to how small business, families and us normal people work that it is no longer a joke. In Conclusion We will get through this, they will not take our positivity away from us, the swear jar at work is now smashed, I have no plans of ceasing my ciggies and I’m a little disappointed at the level of Pinot supplies at the office. Soldier on people! We are small business and we do hold up this country! For those keen enough to read on… here are the details… Last night the Government handed down the 2026-27 Federal Budget and as expected, there are plenty of proposed tax changes, more complexity, and several new ways to make life harder for investors, business owners and accountants – believe us, we are just thrilled from these announcements... As always, these are announcements only at this stage and still need to pass through Parliament before becoming law – so remember these changes are proposed only. Capital Gains Tax Changes From 1 July 2027, the Government plans to scrap the current 50% CGT discount and replace it with an indexed cost base method plus a minimum 30% tax on capital gains. This means capital gains will become even more complicated and basically guarantees the Government will be 30% tax on the profit of your investment gain. There is a lot more to this, and once it is legislated, we will no doubt be having some conversations with you on this one. Negative Gearing Changes From 1 July 2027, losses on established residential properties purchased after 7:30pm on Budget Night (12th May 2026) will only be deductible against future property income or capital gains. No-one really cares, because if you are making a loss on your residential rental property in this environment, we probably need to chat about other things. Discretionary Trusts Targeted The Government has also announced a proposed minimum 30% tax on discretionary trust income from 1 July 2028. This massively impacts many family groups and small business structures that have operated legitimately for decades. There is proposed rollover relief available for businesses wanting to restructure out of trusts, which is Government language for: “We changed the rules, so now you have to waste time and money restructuring to adapt.” This one is huge and will impact most of our business clients. Once this becomes law and we get the nitty gritty, there will be restructuring, re-education on running your business and a lot of wine & tears. The Extra Shit Bits Tax Cuts Still Coming . The already legislated tax cuts are still scheduled: 16% tax bracket reducing to 15% from 1 July 2026 Then reducing again to 14% from 1 July 2027 Employee Tax Changes Can claim $1,000 in work-related expenses without receipts. A new annual $250 tax offset from 2028… Please spend your extra $4.80 per week responsibly. Business Measures $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off Made Permanent. At least one thing survived Budget Night. Loss Carry-Back Rules for Companies. Companies under $1 billion turnover can roll back losses in prior years to gain some tax advantage. This is not bad but will probably means a limited life expectancy. ATO Audits Getting More Funding The ATO has received additional funding for compliance, fraud monitoring and data matching activities. So, expect more reviews, expect more letters, expect more “please explain” correspondence and expect the ATO to know about things before you remember doing them. If you have outstanding lodgements, missing records or “creative” bookkeeping, now would be an excellent time to tidy things up. Electric Vehicle FBT Changes The current EV FBT concessions will gradually reduce from 2029 onwards, although transitional rules will apply to existing arrangements. As always with EV incentives, the rules remain wonderfully simple and easy to understand for absolutely nobody. We’ll continue monitoring developments as legislation is released and the inevitable amendments, backflips and “clarifications” begin.

ASIC Annual Company Requirements

By Daniel Foelz • March 4, 2025

Every company registered in Australia must meet annual compliance obligations set by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). One of the key requirements is the annual statement, which ASIC issues to companies shortly after their annual review date - typically the anniversary of their registration. What is an ASIC Annual Statement? Shortly after a company’s annual review date, ASIC sends out an annual statement. This document includes: • Company’s Current Details: A summary of the company’s information as recorded by ASIC. • Annual Review Fee Invoice : An invoice detailing the fee required to maintain the company’s registration. • Corporate Key: A unique identifier that allows secure access to ASIC’s online services for updating company information. Companies must carefully review this document to ensure their information is correct and take action to maintain their registration. Annual Obligations for Companies To remain compliant and avoid penalties, companies must complete the following steps each year: 1. Pay the Annual Review Fee ASIC requires companies to pay a yearly fee to maintain their registration. The amount varies depending on the type of company (e.g. Private Company or SMSF Trustee Company). Payments must be made by the due date to avoid late fees and possible deregistration. These fees are included within our invoice issued to you. 2. Verify and Update Company Details Companies should check their annual statement to confirm that all details - such as registered office address, directors, and shareholders are accurate. If any changes are needed, they must be updated with ASIC by contacting our office. 3. Pass a Solvency Resolution Within two months of the annual review date, company directors are required to pass a solvency resolution. This resolution confirms that the directors have reasonable grounds to believe the company can pay its debts as they become due. While the resolution doesn’t need to be lodged with ASIC, it must be documented and kept with the company’s records. Consequences of Non-Compliance Failing to meet ASIC’s annual requirements can result in penalties, late fees, and even company deregistration. It is crucial for companies to adhere to these obligations to maintain their good standing and ensure uninterrupted operation. What Happens If You Don’t Receive Your Annual Statement? If the annual statement isn’t received within a week of the review date, companies should contact ASIC to avoid compliance issues and potential penalties. Deregistration Considerations If a company is no longer operating, it may apply for voluntary deregistration to avoid ongoing fees and obligations. Contact our office to discuss. Stay Compliant to Avoid Penalties By staying on top of annual reviews and ensuring all obligations are met on time, companies can remain in good standing and avoid unnecessary complications. For comprehensive information on annual statements and company obligations, refer to ASIC official website or contact our office.