Businesses in NSW can now apply for JobSaver payments of up to $10,000 each week if they have experienced at least a 30 per cent decline in turnover since the start of the Greater Sydney lockdown.
Applications for JobSaver will open from Monday, and will see businesses and not-for-profits receive 40 per cent of their weekly payroll, at a minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $10,000 per week, as long as they maintain their full-time, part-time and long-term casual staffing level as of 13 July.
Non-employing businesses, such as sole traders, can expect $1,000 payments per week.
The JobSaver payment will be paid out on a fortnightly basis by Service NSW and will be backdated to 18 July 2021—week 4 of the Greater Sydney lockdown. Businesses who suffered a decline in turnover for the first three weeks of restrictions will be covered by the 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant.
Businesses must have a turnover of between $75,000 and $50 million for the year ended 30 June 2020, and demonstrate a decline in turnover of 30 per cent or more over a minimum two-week period from the start of the Greater Sydney lockdown on 26 June, compared to the same period in 2019.
Service NSW acknowledges that some businesses will not meet the eligibility criteria but may still be eligible for JobSaver.
Those with alternative circumstances, including new businesses, or those who were operating under unusual trading conditions in 2019, have been asked to contact the agency directly to ascertain their eligibility.
In line with the business grant program, businesses in highly impacted industries will be required to provide details of their qualified accountant, registered tax agent or registered BAS agent for compliance checking, while businesses outside the highly impacted industries list will be required to produce a letter from their practitioner that verifies their decline in turnover.
Letters used for the business grant program can be resubmitted.
JobSaver Calculation
The 40 per cent weekly payroll calculation will be determined by referring to item W1 in the most recent BAS lodged with the ATO prior to 26 June 2021 for the 2020-21 financial year. Businesses will then need to deduct any amounts withheld on behalf of contractors under voluntary agreements.
The amount will then need to be divided by the number of days in the BAS period and multiplied by 7 to calculate the weekly payroll amount, says Service NSW.
Businesses that do not submit a BAS or have no W1 amount will be required to use the ATO’s definition of W1 to calculate their payroll for April or May before dividing it by the number of days in the month and multiplying it by 7.
Micro-Business Grant
Businesses with an annual turnover between $30,000 and $75,000 will be eligible for a fortnightly payment of $1,500 if they have experienced a decline in turnover of 30 per cent or more since the start of the lockdown.
They must not have applied for either the 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant, or the JobSaver scheme.
The grant will be paid in arrears, with the first payment backdated to 26 June.
Employees can receive the Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payments even if their employer is receiving JobSaver or the micro business grant.
Sole traders or non-employing businesses are not eligible for additional assistance if they are receiving the COVID-19 Disaster Payments.
Applications for both JobSaver and the micro-business grant will open on 26 July and close at 11:59pm on 18 October.
Details on the JobSaver payment are available here, while micro business grant guidelines are available here.