How will the government’s JobKeeper changes affect you?

By Cameron Micallef

June 05 2020
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Part-time and casual employees who normally make less than $1,500 a fortnight could lose the additional money from the JobKeeper program as the government looks to amend the subsidy.

The policy, which has a flat rate of $1,500 a fortnight regardless of the recipient’s salary, could come to an end as the government looks to rein in support as the economy reopens.

Speaking at Parliament House, Mr Frydenberg said he would now announce the outcome of its midway review of the $70 billion JobKeeper program as well as a detailed economic and fiscal update on 23 July.

The Treasury has since commenced its review of the JobKeeper program, and it is expected to be finalised by the end of June.

Despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissing drastic changes, and the policy costing $60 billion less than initially thought, the Treasurer has now hinted that the $1,500 flat-rate payment could be overhauled to prevent overpayments to some employees.

“We want to understand whether the quantum, that $1,500 payment, continues to be the right amount, also bearing in mind that some people are getting paid more than they would otherwise get by virtue of having a flat payment,” Mr Frydenberg said.

The Treasurer also flagged that the review would consider the viability of continuing the JobKeeper payments to businesses that have recovered sufficiently.

He said: “But in the context of an economy, where the restrictions are being eased and people are getting back into work, we need to assess – and particularly paying a focus to certain sectors as well – we need to assess the continuation of that JobKeeper program in that context.

“It’s too early to pre-empt what the outcomes of that review will be, but any government decisions about the review will be incorporated into that statement that the Finance Minister and I will make in July.”

Australia in recession

Revealing that the economy has contracted by 0.3 of a percentage point in the March quarter, Mr Frydenberg declared that Australia was now in its first recession in close to three decades, despite the June quarter GDP figures yet to be released.

A technical recession requires two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction, but Mr Frydenberg said that was inevitable following the Treasury’s advice on where the June quarter would be following COVID-19 shutdowns.

“Clearly, with this once-in-a-century pandemic, the impact on the economy has been very severe, the impact in the June quarter will be even more severe,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“We’ve climbed this mountain before, we’ll climb it again.”

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About the author

Cameron Micallef

Cameron is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He enjoys giving Aussies practical financial tips and tricks to help grow their wealth and achieve financial independence. As a self-confessed finance nerd, Cameron enjoys chatting with industry experts and commentators to leverage their insights to grow your portfolio.

About the author

Cameron Micallef

Cameron is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He enjoys giving Aussies practical financial tips and tricks to help grow their wealth and achieve financial independence. As a self-confessed finance nerd, Cameron enjoys chatting with industry experts and commentators to leverage their insights to grow your portfolio.

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