JobMaker Hiring Credit:
everything you need to know.

Important Key Dates

7 October 2020
Scheme starts

The JobMaker scheme starts on 7 October 2020. You may be able to claim payments relating to employees hired up until 6 October 2021. Employees hired on or after 7 October 2021 are not eligible employees.

6 December 2020
Registrations open

You can register from 6 December 2020. You only need to register once and you must register before you claim.

6 January 2021
Initial registration period ends
(for existing employees already engaged post-7 October 2020)

The deadline for electing to participate in the JobMaker scheme for the first JobMaker period is currently 6 January 2021.

NOTE: The government is yet to release detailed information around the initial enrolment and reporting requirements. We will update this page as new information is released.

1 February 2021
First claim period opens

You can claim JobMaker payments from 1 February 2021 as long as you have registered and met the other eligibility requirements (including reporting through Single Touch Payroll).

30 April 2021
First claim period closes

You can only claim JobMaker for the first JobMaker period until the end of 30 April 2021. You must claim by the end of the claim period to receive JobMaker for that period.

6 October 2021
Final date for entry to the scheme

The JobMaker scheme closes to new participants on 6 October 2021.

6 October 2022
JobMaker scheme ends

This is the end of the final JobMaker payment period. This is the last period for which employers will receive payments for eligible employees under the scheme.

An overview of the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme.

The JobMaker Hiring Credit (JobMaker) is an incentive available to businesses to encourage the hiring of more staff as COVID restrictions phase out.

Unlike JobKeeper, JobMaker can apply to new businesses and the business does not need to satisfy a decline in turnover test to receive payments.

JobMaker is a credit available to eligible businesses for hiring additional employees (not if you are merely replacing someone who left). JobMaker is available for jobs created from 7 October 2020 until 6 October 2021.

JobMaker provides:

$200 per week for new employees between 16 to 29 years of age, and
$100 a week for new employees between 30 to 35 years of age.

Payment is from the start date of the employee for 12 months.

The JobMaker claim periods.

Period	JobMaker Period	Claim Period
1	7 October 2020 - 6 January 2021	1 February 2021 – 30 April 2021
2	7 January 2021 – 6 April 2021	1 May 2021 – 31 July 2021
3	7 April 2021 – 6 July 2021	1 August 2021 – 31 October 2021
4	7 July 2021 – 6 October 2021	1 November 2021 – 31 January 2022
5	7 October 2021 – 6 January 2022	1 February 2022 – 30 April 2022
6	7 January 2022 – 6 April 2022	1 May 2022 – 31 July 2022
7	7 April 2022 – 6 July 2022	1 August 2022 – 31 October 2022
8	7 July 2022 – 6 October 2022	1 November 2022 – 31 January 2023

Check JobMaker's eligibility criteria.

Employer eligibility

Employers are eligible if they:

Operate a business in Australia, or are a not-for-profit organisation (conditions apply)
Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
Are registered for pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
Report through Single Touch Payroll (STP)
Are up to date with income tax and GST lodgement obligations for the last 2 years
Have not claimed a JobKeeper payment for a fortnight that started during the JobMaker period

Employee eligibility

Employees are eligible if they:

Have not given an employee notice to another employer which is still in effect
Are between 16 and 35 years old (inclusive) when they started employment
Received income support payments, including the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (other than on the basis that the individual was undertaking full-time study or was a new apprentice) or Parenting Payment:
- For at least 28 consecutive days (or 2 fortnights)
- Within the 84 days (or 6 fortnights) before being hired.

Job creation eligibility

Employers must have an increase in both:

Total employee headcount from 30 September 2020, and
Payroll for the JobMaker period, compared to the 3 months up to 6 October 2020.

Employees must also:

Start employment with you between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021
Be hired as a permanent or casual employee, or on a fixed-term basis
Have worked, or have been paid, for at least 20 hours per week you employed them over the JobMaker period
Have given you a notice declaring they meet the employee eligibility criteria.

20 hour per week requirement

An employee needs to have worked an average of at least 20 hours per week for the full weeks employed for the JobMaker period being claimed. To work out the number of hours that they must have worked or been paid for in the relevant period, start with the total days that the individual was employed by the entity in the JobMaker period. Then, divide this by 7 and round down to nearest whole number. This figure is then multiplied by 20.

Hours of paid work include paid overtime, paid leave and paid absences on public holidays. It does not include any unpaid leave. The number of hours actually worked include any hours worked, including unpaid overtime, paid leave and paid absences on public holidays and might be more appropriate if an employee is not paid on a particular rate (such as salaried employees).

Who is not eligible for JobMaker?

If the employer is claiming JobMaker, it cannot also receive any of the following payments for the employee:

Supporting Apprentices and Trainees Wage subsidy;
Australian Apprentice Wage subsidy;
Boosting the Apprenticeship Commencements Wage subsidy; or
Restart, Youth Bonus, Youth, Parents or Long-term Unemployed Wage subsidies.

Certain employees are also excluded. These include:

Employees who commenced employment 12 months or more before the first day of the JobMaker period (even if the employer has claimed JobMaker for less than 12 months, for example where the employee was eligible for JobKeeper). The entitlement to JobMaker is for 12 months from the date the eligible employee commenced employment.
Contractors, subcontractors or labour hire employees.
Employees who were engaged by the business at any time in the 6 months before 6 October 2020, other than as an employee, to perform a substantially similar role or substantially similar functions or duties to those performed as an employee. For example, JobMaker cannot be claimed for a contractor who becomes an employee.

JobMaker also cannot be claimed by:

Sole traders (as they cannot employ themselves);
Partners of a partnership (they too cannot employ themselves);
Trustees and beneficiaries of trusts (that are not widely held unit trusts); or
Directors or shareholders of companies (that are not widely held).

JobMaker also cannot be claimed for close associates of the business and its owners. A “close associate” is a relative of an individual, partner, trustee, beneficiary, director or shareholder.

How the JobMaker scheme works.

Step 1: Register

MyGov (Sole Traders)
ATO Business Portal (All other businesses)
A registered tax or BAS agent (like us here at Link)

Step 2: Nominate

Step 3: Claim

Tax consequences.

All payments under the JobMaker scheme are assessable as income in your business tax return.

The wages and super that your business pays to employees under this scheme are tax deductible as per usual.

JobMaker payments are:

not subject to GST
do not need to be included in your business activity statements (BAS).

Keep your Xero books up to date.

You will be required to report payroll each month so it is essential that your Xero file is regularly updated so you can lodge your figures ASAP.

Where to next?

Take action if,
- You have put on new staff aged 35 or under from 7 October 2020 OR
- You are planning to put on new staff aged 35 or under up until the 6 October 2021
Register, nominate eligible employees and start claiming JobMaker payments.
Reach out to Link Advisors if you need any assistance in relation to JobMaker.

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Disclaimer

The information contained on this website is presented as a guide only and is not intended to replace professional advice relevant to your specific circumstances. While the information on this website has been verified to the best of our abilities, we cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes or errors. Link Advisors take no responsibility for any omissions, inaccuracies or loss incurred by reliance on this information.

JobMaker Hiring Credit:
everything you need to know.

Important Key Dates