Eligible Employers

Eligible Employers

Employers will be eligible for the subsidy if:

• Their business has an aggregated turnover* of less than $1 billion (for income tax purposes) and they estimate their GST turnover has fallen or will likely fall by 30 per cent or more; or
• Their business has an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or more (for income tax purposes) and they estimate their GST turnover has fallen or will likely fall by 50 per cent or more; and
• Their business is not subject to the Major Bank Levy.

Self-employed individuals (businesses without employees) will be eligible to receive the JobKeeper Payment where they meet the relevant turnover test outlined above. Once the business has established the required

To establish that a business has, or is likely to, face the relevant fall in their turnover, most would be expected to establish that their turnover has or will likely fall in the relevant month or quarter (depending on their Business Activity Statement reporting period) relative to their turnover in a corresponding period a year earlier. Turnover is calculated as it is for GST purposes, and is reported on Business Activity Statements.

Where a business was not in operation a year earlier, or where their turnover a year earlier was not representative of their usual or average turnover, (e.g. because there was a large interim acquisition, they were newly established or their turnover is typically highly variable) the Tax Commissioner will have discretion to consider additional information that the business can provide to establish that they have been significantly affected by the impacts of the Coronavirus. The payment cannot be paid to businesses that are in liquidation.

The Tax Commissioner will also have discretion to set out alternative tests that would establish eligibility in specific circumstances (e.g. eligibility may be established as soon as a business has ceased or significantly curtails its operations). There will be some tolerance where employers, in good faith, estimate a 30 per cent or more or 50 per cent or more fall in turnover but actually experience a slightly smaller fall.

If a business has an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or more (for income tax purposes), the 50 per cent or more GST turnover test will apply to each business connected with or affiliated with that business. If the business has an aggregated turnover of less than $1 billion, the 30 per cent or more GST turnover test is applied to each business connected with or affiliated with that business. Individual businesses within corporate group may be eligible for the JobKeeper payment while other businesses in the group may not be eligible.

The employer must have been in an employment relationship with eligible employees as at 1 March 2020, and confirm that each eligible employee is currently engaged in order to receive the JobKeeper Payments. 

*Aggregated turnover is an entity’s annual turnover from carrying on a business plus the annual turnover from carrying on a business of any business or individual connected with or affiliated with the entity.