The legislation has passed through parliament to enable the Job Hiring credit program. In short, the program is designed to get people off employment benefits and into work. The scheme will run for 12 months from 7 October and will be Administered by the Tax Office. You can register using any of the following online services:
- ATO online services,
- the Business Portal, or
- through registered tax and BAS agents now open.
Eligible Employers
Employers will be able to access:
- up to $200 per week for each eligible additional employee aged 16 to 29 years, and
- up to $100 per week for each eligible additional employee aged 30 to 35 years.
Eligible Employees
To be an eligible employee, the employee will need to have worked for a minimum of 20 hours per week, averaged over a quarter, and received the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (Other) or Parenting Payment for at least one month out of the three months prior to when they are hired.
Employers cannot be receiving JobKeeper payments at the same time and must also meet a number of eligibility conditions, including:
- being registered for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding,
- holding an Australian business number (ABN),
- being up to date with their tax lodgement obligations, and
- be reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
If you are not required to report via STP, you will need to contact the ATO and meet additional requirements.
The hiring credit is paid every three months in arrears, with claims for the first quarterly payment to open on 1 February 2021.
ATO deputy commissioner James O’Halloran has encouraged businesses to check their eligibility and take the first step to register for the scheme from this week, noting that they cannot claim the credit if they are not registered.
“We encourage employers to register from now to ensure their hiring credits can be paid promptly from when the first quarterly claim period opens in February 2021,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“Employers are reminded that new employees must have received the Parenting Payment, Youth Allowance (Other) or JobSeeker Payment for at least 28 consecutive days (or two fortnights) within the 84 days (or six fortnights) of being hired to allow for a claim to be made by the employer.
“There are some key dates to keep in mind, and simple steps employers can take now, but please remember that not everything needs to be done from next week.”
Last week, Mr Frydenberg registered the rules of the scheme, while the Commissioner of Taxation registered a legislative instrument setting out the reporting obligations required under the scheme.
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