Overview
On 6 October 2020, the Government announced that a JobMaker Hiring Credit will be available to employers when they hire an eligible person aged 16 to 35. The scheme will apply for each new job created until 6 October 2021.
From 7 October 2020, eligible employers can qualify for:
$200 a week for each additional eligible employee they hire aged 16 to 29, and
$100 a week for each additional eligible employee aged 30 to 35.
Employers can receive the payment for eligible employees who work, or are paid, an average of 20 hours per week for a period of up to 12 months.
An employee’s age is calculated based on the commencement date the employer reports via the STP payroll event.
There is no requirement for an employer to report the rate they think they will get for their employees. This will be calculated by the ATO based on the information received.
Amounts paid to employers will be capped by relative changes in headcount and payroll over time, please refer to https://www.ato.gov.au/jobmakerhiringcreditguide for information regarding this.
The JMHC will be claimed quarterly in arrears by the employer from the ATO from 1 February 2020.
Employer Eligibility
Employers are eligible to receive the JobMaker Hiring Credit if they:
have an Australian Business Number (ABN),
are up to date with their income tax and GST lodgment obligations,
are registered for Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding,
are reporting through Single Touch Payroll,
are an Australian resident entity that meets all other eligibility criteria even if they are owned by a sovereign entity, and
meet the payroll and headcount additionality criteria.
The additionality criteria require that there is an increase in:
the business’ total employee headcount from the reference date of 30 September 2020 (baseline headcount), and
the payrollof the business for the JobMaker period, as compared to the three months to 6 October 2020 (baseline payroll).
Eligible Additional Employees
To be an eligible, additional employee, the employee in summary must:
At the time of their employment be aged either;
16 to 29, to attract the higher rate of $200 per week; or30 to 35 to attract the lower rate of $100 per week,have worked, or were paid, at least 20 hours per week on average over the JobMaker period,
have commenced their employment with the employer between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021,
For 28 consecutive days within the past 84 days (before the employee was hired), they received:
JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (except full-time study or was a new apprentice), or
Parenting Payment. Employees may be employed on a permanent, casual or fixed term basis.
The Administration Process
Register:
Employers can register for the JobMaker Hiring Credit through ATO online services, the Business Portal, or through a registered tax or BAS agent.
Nominate eligible additional employees:
Employers need to identify, nominate and report their eligible additional employees through their STP enabled software. See below for instructions on how to do this in Easy Payslip.
Claim:
Employers can claim every 3 months (in arrears) through ATO online services, the Business Portal, or through a registered tax or BAS agent, starting from 1 February 2020.
A claim for an eligible employee can only be made:
for a period of up to 12 months after their commencement of employment with the employer, or
until the STP reported cessation date, whichever comes first.
The JobMaker Hiring Credit claim process will be online via ATO Online services and will not be managed via STP. Claims and amendments to claims must be undertaken within the claim period for each JobMaker period.
Key Due Dates
Pre-reading
In the first instance, you should refer to the ATO website for up to date information surrounding the JobKeeper Extension
If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at support@payroo.com.au.