- JobMaker Hiring Credit – a 12-month wage subsidy for businesses that hire 16 to 35 year olds for at least 20 hours per week, who were on JobSeeker. It will be a $200/week subsidy for those under 30 and $100/week for those aged 30-35. It’s expected that employers will report JobMaker Hiring Credits using Single Touch Payroll. More details to follow.
- Apprentice wage subsidy scheme – businesses that hire new apprentices will be eligible for a 50% wage subsidy. The $1.2 billion scheme will support 100,000 apprentices and be available to businesses of all sizes.
Eligible employers can claim a JobMaker Hiring Credit for each additional new job they create for an eligible employee from 7 October 2020 to 6 October 2021.
The JobMaker Hiring Credit will be available from the date of employment for up to 12 months and capped at $10,400 for each additional new position created. Eligible employers will receive $200 per week if they hire an eligible employee aged 16 to 29 years, or $100 per week if they hire an eligible employee aged 30 to 35 years.
There are specific “additionality criteria” to be met to be an eligible employer, including demonstrating that there is an increase in the total employee headcount and payroll of the business. Other employer eligibility criteria include being registered for PAYG withholding and reporting through Single Touch Payroll. Employers do not need to satisfy a fall in turnover test. The Jobmaker Hiring Credit will also not be available to employers who are claiming the JobKeeper payment.
The employee must have worked at least 20 hours per week, averaged over a quarter and received the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (Other) or Parenting Payment for at least one month out of the three months before they were hired.
The credit will be available for each additional new job created for an eligible employee from 7 October 2020 until 6 October 2021. It will be claimed quarterly in arrears from the ATO starting from 1 February 2021.
Source: Budget Paper No 2, p 162; Glossy “JobMaker Hiring Credit”, pp 1–3.