Large hospitality and tourism businesses with revenues of up to $1 billion will now be eligible for JobSaver under a new extension announced by the New South Wales government.
The expansion to large businesses in the tourism, hospitality and recreation industries will see those with an annual turnover between $250 million and $500 million receive 40 per cent of their weekly payroll at a maximum of $300,000 a week.
Larger businesses with a turnover between $500 million and $1 billion can expect up to $500,000 each week.
The JobSaver program had only previously provided eligible businesses with revenues between $75,000 and $250 million with weekly payments of up to $100,000.
The changes come after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian last week announced an extension of the Greater Sydney lockdown to the end of September.
“Given the extended Public Health Order, and the continued uncertainty on return to business as usual, many larger businesses in the hospitality, tourism and recreation sectors are especially impacted,” said Service NSW in its updated guidance material.
“These businesses are often large employers and are at increasing risk of letting employees go.”
The extension of JobSaver will come with its own set of rules, namely a need to prove a 50 per cent decline in turnover for businesses with a turnover of up to $500 million and a 70 per cent decline for those with a turnover of up to $1 billion.
These businesses will need to operate in one of 17 Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZIC) industries, including pubs, transport services, and the creative and performing arts.
Applications will still be received by Service NSW but will be manually assessed by Revenue NSW.
The JobSaver extension comes after a botched rollout of the program in its first month of operation, with businesses complaining about delayed processing of applications and payments.
Data revealed by Service NSW last week showed 208,775 applications worth $1.6 billion in financial support have now been approved for payment, out of a total of 271,896 applications seeking $2.3 billion.
A further 3,316 applications worth $26 million have been declined, while 59,805 applications worth $669 million have yet to be assessed.
