COVID-19 Updates - 30th March, 2020

6.00pm, 30th March, 2020

JobKeeper Wage Subsidy

The Prime Minister has today announced that businesses whose revenue has dropped by at least 30% due to the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to receive a JobKeeper payment of $1,500 per fortnight for each employee who remains on the books. The Prime Minister’s media release on the announcement can be found here. Clubs are invited to register their interest on the Australian Taxation Office website, here.

Legislation is yet to be published or enacted, which means that some details of the JobKeeper scheme are not yet clarified.

To be eligible, an employee must have been on the club’s books on 1 March 2020, and the employee must be – or must have been – full-time, part-time or a casual employee for at least 12 months. Under the JobKeeper payments, a club can receive $1,500 per fortnight to pass on to stood down employees, despite those employees not being operational. Clubs will neither be required to contribute superannuation – nor pay entitlements – on the $1,500 per fortnight payments passed on to stood down employees.

Clubs can also claim JobKeeper payments for employees who remain operational. If an operational employee’s salary or wage exceeds $1,500 per fortnight, the club will be required to pay the employee any shortfall. Clubs will also be required to contribute superannuation and pay entitlements on payments made to operational employees.

The payments will commence from 1 May 2020, and will be backdated to today, 30 March 2020. The scheme will last for 6 months. Clubs which participate in the JobKeeper scheme will be obligated to pass on all payments to employees and the Government will monitor this obligation through the single touch payroll system. It will not be necessary for stood down employees participating in the JobKeeper Scheme to apply to Services Australia for the new JobSeeker payments.

ClubsNSW advises that Member Clubs may notify stood-down employees that they are interested in participating the JobKeeper scheme, but that the scheme is currently subject to the enactment of legislation and that no commitments can be made.

Certain details of the scheme are not yet clear, such as the size of JobKeeper payments to employees whose wage or salary is less than $1,500 per fortnight. ClubsNSW will monitor – and advise clubs – of all developments in the progression of the JobKeeper policy, including the enactment of legislation.


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For more information or any questions, please contact the ClubsNSW Members Enquiries Centre.

Contact Member Enquiries Centre