5:15pm, 12th May, 2020
10-person cap in club dining facilities
Last Friday, 8 May 2020, the Prime Minister announced a three-step roadmap for reopening the Australian economy. The roadmap recommended that restaurants and cafes in clubs reopen in step 1 (excluding the bar and gaming rooms), with a cap of 10 persons, or 1 person per 4 square metres (whichever is less).
Subsequently, the NSW Premier announced that step 1 would commence in NSW this Friday, 15 May 2020.
The NSW Government is yet to release legislation which sets out in detail how the 10-person cap will be applied. Accordingly, some practical details of the 10-person cap are unclear, including:
- Does the 10-person cap apply separately to different cafes or restaurants inside a club?
- How are employees accounted for in the capacity limits?
- Can a patron consume liquor?
Upon the release of legislation, ClubsNSW will distribute guidance on the rules, including the practical questions noted above.
As noted in Circular 20-062, ClubsNSW continues to engage with the NSW Government to seek clarity on when clubs can resume operations.
Payroll tax on JobKeeper
Earlier today, the NSW Government introduced the COVID-19 Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures—Treasurer) Bill 2020.
If enacted, the legislation will provide a payroll tax exemption to the following JobKeeper payments:
- the full amount of JobKeeper payments to stood-down staff who work no hours; and
- the “top up amount” paid to an employee in order to reach a salary or wage of $1,500 per fortnight. For example, suppose an employee earns $1,000 per fortnight, and the club pays the employee a top up amount of $500 to reach the $1,500 threshold (all amount before tax). In this example, the club is exempted from paying payroll tax on the $500 top up amount.
ClubsNSW notes that the legislation has not yet passed Parliament or been enacted.
ClubsNSW will only provide further information if the payroll tax exemption fails to be enacted.
Member clubs are further advised of other payroll tax relief measures which the NSW Government has previously announced – a 25% discount for the 2019-20 year and 6-month deferral.
Details of these measures can be found here
For more information or any questions, please contact the ClubsNSW Members Enquiries Centre.