JobKeeper scheme legislation achieves royal assent

The JobKeeper scheme legislation achieves royal assent Legislation.  The new legislation establishes the JobKeeper scheme of wage subsidies in the form of payments made via employers has passed both houses of Parliament and has achieved royal assent.

The bills concerned (the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Bill 2020 and the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Bill 2020) also amend the Fair Work Act 2009 to support the practical operation of the JobKeeper scheme, as well as other measures including the guarantee of lending to small and medium enterprises, and consequential amendments.

We now await the legislative instrument to be issued by the Treasurer that set’s out the details of how the JobKeeper package works in detail.  vTax Australia will keep you abreast as information becomes available. We are also waiting for a major change to the ATO website that will give in-depth details of how the ATO will administer all of the government’s stimulus packages, including its attitude towards the application of the anti-avoidance provisions.

The details of eligibility for particular payments as well as the amount of payments and the time when they are to be paid will be set out in the rules made by the Treasurer, so that arrangements can be modified appropriately in response to the impacts of COVID-19.

In the meantime, Treasury has issued Jobkeeper Payment — Information for Employers, fact sheet (pdf) as well as JobKeeper Payment — Information for employees fact sheet (pdf).

 

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