JobKeeper to be extended beyond September deadline

The PM confirmed JobKeeper will continue at a reduced rate and made special mention to the business events industry.

The Federal Government has confirmed the JobKeeper scheme will be extended beyond September, in an adjusted format.

Prime Minisiter Scott Morrison told media this morning the current JobKeeper payment will continue until the end of September, before it is extended for a further six months at reduced rates.

Businesses currently on the JobKeeper scheme receive $1,500 a fortnight per staff member to keep them employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After September, the JobKeeper will become a two-tiered system, with a higher and lower level payment based on hours worked.

From October, the higher JobKeeper payment will be reduced to $1,200 per fortnight, while the lower payment will be $750 per fortnight for people working under 20 hours a week pre-COVID-19.

From January until the end of March 2021, that payment will be reduced again to $1,000 per fortnight and $650 per fortnight for people working less than 20 hours a week.

Businesses will be required to prove a 30 per cent turnover reduction until the end of March of next year.

The JobSeeker unemployment benefit will also be revised, with the $550 COVID-19 supplement set to drop to $250 through until the end of the year.

Will business events be covered?

Following his meeting with business events industry representatives on Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison reassured the events and exhibition industry “will need continued support and they will get continued support”.

“And they will continue to adapt, they will continue to innovate, they will continue to employ and they will continue to look forward. And that’s our way through this.”

Again, in his press conference today, the Prime Minister acknowledged that business events are one of the many sectors who will benefit from the extended JobKeeper program.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said the extension of the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme will also help events industry businesses move out of hibernation.

Changes to scheme will see the loan size increased to $1 million (from $250,000) per borrower and the loan term to five years.

“$1 million over a longer period of time, five years, and not just for working capital, but also to extend into new investments and as I have spoken to industry leaders here today, the exhibition and business events sector, not unlike the creative sector, the entertainment sector, significantly hit by COVID-19,” Morrison said.

“But they are looking forward to the time ahead where they can plan and they can get their business moving again.”