On 30 March 2020 the Australian government announced a new welfare initiative known as the JobKeeper payment. The JobKeeper payment has had a pretty bad wrap among temporary residents, as they are not directly eligible, however in some cases the JobKeeper payment could be able to keep many temporary residents’ financials afloat.

The JobKeeper name is spin off from the existing JobSeeker payment which provides financial help if you’re between 22 and Age Pension age and looking for work. It’s also for when you’re sick or injured and can’t do your usual work or study for a short time. To be eligible to apply for the JobSeeker payment you must be a citizen or permanent resident. Previously, if you were a newly arrived permanent resident you would have been subject to a waiting period of 2-4 years, however this waiting period has been waived in light of the coronavirus situation. This reinforces the importance of applying for PR or citizenship as soon as you are eligible. Generally, NZ citizens on a subclass 444 Special Category Visa will not be eligible for JobSeeker payments, unless they have lived in Australia continuously for the last 10 years.

The Monday following the announcement that pubs, clubs and gyms had to close and restaurants would be limited to take away, so many people were trying to lodge an application that the Services Australia (formerly Centrelink) website crashed. This led to lines down the street out of Services Australia offices as over 88,000 people were out of work and applying for assistance. 

This was only the beginning and it was clear something had to change. Businesses and employees were both realising the extent of the struggle and uncertainty ahead. JobSeeker payments were increasing, in a bid to keep the economy going, but in a way that was not maintainable and enticing for those out of work to remain that way – for some, the JobSeeker allowance was increasing to more than their income when previously employed. And with that, the JobKeeper payment was born. 

The JobKeeper payment is same-same-but-different in comparison to the JobSeeker payment. The JobSeeker payment is an ongoing payment initiative designed for those who have completely lost their jobs and are unable to find new work. It is a variable payment calculated on the applicant’s circumstances and is paid directly to the applicant. The JobKeeper payment, on the other hand, is a limited time, six month initiative designed to assist businesses to keep their employees in work, if their business can run during the brunt of COVID-19, and keep employees paid during the down time so that they are able to get straight back up and running when everything calms down. It is a flat rate reimbursement to the employer to put towards eligible employees’ wages.

To be eligible as a business you be able to show a reduction in revenue of 30% (or for businesses with a turnover of over $1billion, a reduction in revenue of 50%) since 1 March 2020 over a minimum one-month period. 

To be an eligible employee, you must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or NZ citizen holding a subclass 444. These employees must be full-time, part-time and even casuals (although the casuals will need to have been employed for at least 12 months). Sole-traders and apprentices may also be eligible.

The JobKeeper payment has been getting a bad rap with temporary residents, but keep in mind that the JobKeeper payment isn’t a cash in hand payment for those ‘eligible employees’ like the JobSeeker one is for its recipients. It is essentially assistance to the business to pay the wages depending on how many eligible employees they have. In some cases, it will even indirectly benefit temporary residents and keep them in work when they otherwise may not have been. 

Let’s use an example to illustrate.

Let’s say company A has experienced a 30% reduction in revenue during March and employees 10 staff. Each employee earns $2000 per fortnight. Company A has 7 citizens and 3 temporary residents who all work full time. Without the JobKeeper payment Company A’s payroll would total $20,000 per fortnight. With the JobKeeper payment, the government will reimburse $10,500, which would mean the employer would only be out of pocket the remaining $9,500 to pay the whole team the full wage. Even though the company may not be doing as well as they were before the coronavirus hit, they will be more likely to keep everyone working. In this instance the company has only experienced a 30% reduction in revenue, but now has a 52.5% reduction in payroll each fortnight.

There are a few variables here including the employer’s ability to keep running the business, and, if so, whether that is as normal or at a reduced rate. It will also vary depending on salaries of each employee, the hours worked by the employees and the ratio of eligible employees to temporary residents and other ineligible employees. Let’s look at another example. Ideally you want the eligible employee to non-eligible employee ratio to be high to minimal and you want the business to continue running to some degree, but ideally at full capacity. This is not necessarily the hard and fast rule and these variables may be tweaked during this time, possibly resulting in a better outcome for the  

Let’s say Company C has experienced over a 30% reduction in revenue during March and employees 15 staff. This is made up of 5 full-time citizens earning $1500 per fortnight; 5 citizens who are eligible casuals earning about $1000 per fortnight; and 5 casual temporary residents who earn about $600 per fortnight. Without the JobKeeper payment Company C’s payroll would be on average $15,500 per fortnight, that is $12,500 to the citizens and around $3,000 to the temporary residents. With the JobKeeper payment, the government will reimburse $15,000 per fortnight toward the eligible employees’ pay covering more than the entire amount, which would mean the employer would only be out of pocket the remaining $3000, on average, to pay the whole team in full.

The variables can also be tweaked through cooperation with the employer to get a better outcome for the temporary residents. For example, if pay cuts are being applied, the 

This won’t benefit all temporary residents, but it could have a big impact on the lives of some of them so don’t despair. 

For those whose workplaces are not configured in a way where this benefits them, and so long as you are not on a 482 or 457 and tied to your sponsoring employer, it will be a positive in that it will keep more jobs available and the jobseeker pool smaller meaning you will have better chances at finding new work during this time. Despite most industries being adversely impacted at this time, there are some that can’t keep up with demand (did I hear someone say toilet paper?!). Lucky for you other people have done the hard work researching who is hiring instead of firing – here’s an example. The Government have also launched a Jobs Hub which lists thousands of public and private jobs currently ready to be filled across the country, to support businesses and Australians looking for work in these tough times. They might not be the best jobs, but they’re not forever and they’ll provide some funds and possibly human interaction too (can’t put a price on that anymore). 

Please note: The above information has been based on the Prime Minister’s media release on Monday, 30 March 2020. The proposed legislation, detailing the specifics, is currently being drafted and is expected to be passed as legislation within the next week. Depending on the final legislation, some of the above may vary. 

Disclaimer: The above information does NOT constitute legal advice and DOES NOT create a lawyer-client relationship between you and Visa Sidekick. It does not take into account individual circumstances and is intended to be informational only. If you need legal advice please contact an Australian Immigration Lawyer.