Workers will be kept in their jobs with fortnightly $1500 government-funded payments in an extraordinary $130 billion bid to keep Australia’s economy afloat.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new “JobKeeper” payment would support as many as six million Australians over the next six months.
The scheme will provide a flat payment to workers — rather than proportional wage subsidies for people on different incomes.
Employers will receive the money from the government to keep paying their staff during the coronavirus crisis, in an effort to ensure workers still have a job once the pandemic has subsided.
The cash will flow from May 1, but be backdated to March 30.
Businesses must have had a drop in turnover of at least 30 per cent due to coronavirus to qualify for the payments to give their workers.
Mr Morrison said the “unprecedented action” was needed in “unprecedented times”.
“We must work together to make this work and to make it go as far as possible,” he said.
The Prime Minister said it was likely that whole countries would collapse in the coming months.
The announcements follows an initial $17.6 billion economic stimulus boost, and a $66 billion support package which dramatically expanded the welfare safety net and doubled unemployment benefits.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the minimum $1500 payment would give working Australians the best chance of keeping their job.
It is the equivalent of about 70 per cent of the median wage — and about 100 per cent of the median wage in sectors including retail, hospitality and tourism which are most impacted by the crisis.
Payments will flow from the first week of May and will be backdated to today.
Full-time and part-time workers are eligible for the scheme, along with casual workers who have been with the same employer for more than 12 months.
Businesses will be able to apply if their turnover has fallen by at least 30 per cent.
