By Juliano Oliveira
The JobMaker Hiring Credit registration is finally available to employers who hired or are aiming to recruit additional job seekers aged 16 to 35 between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be responsible for administrating the scheme linked to the federal government. Claims for the first quarterly payment will open on 1 February 2021.
The payment process is divided into two categories. For each additional eligible worker hired aged 16 to 29 years, the employer will claim up to $200 a week, and up to $100 a week for those aged 30 to 35 years.
In total, businesses will receive up to $10,400 over the year for each eligible employee aged 16 to 29 years or $5,200 if aged 30 to 35 years.
ATO underlined that employees need to have completed a minimum average of 20 hours (worked or paid) per week when they were employed in the JobMaker period.
Businesses are being encouraged to check their eligibility and take this first step to register for the scheme as of this week.
“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,” said Deputy Commissioner James O’Halloran.
“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,” said Mr O’Halloran.
“I encourage employers seeking advice on the JobMaker Hiring Credit to contact their tax or BAS agent, or call us on our dedicated helpline 13 28 66.”
Companies that hire an employee on 6 October 2021 can claim for payment to 6 October 2022. The JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme will end on 6 October 2022.
More information on the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme is available at https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit/.