The JobMaker Hiring Credit: What you need to know
What is the JobMaker Hiring Credit?
As a way to continue supporting Australia’s economic recovery and reduce the damage of unemployment, the government has created the JobMaker scheme, which encourages businesses to employ more job seekers.
Specifically, the scheme has been designed to accelerate employment growth by giving eligible businesses cash incentives (or hiring credit) to create new jobs and hire people aged 16 to 35.
This scheme is estimated to cost the government about $4 billion over three years, and is expected to support the employment of around 450,000 people.
How does the JobMaker Hiring Credit work?
For each new job created between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021, for which a person aged 16 to 35 was hired, employers can claim hiring credit for up to 12 months from the date the new job was first created in the business.
The credit will be paid to employers – not employees. The receivable credit amount is divided into two age groups:
- $200 per week per new employee aged 16 to 29 years of age
- $100 a week per new employee aged 30 to 35 years of age.
Employers can claim the hiring credit each quarter in arrears directly from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) starting from 1 February 2021. Employers will also need to include a quarterly report to show that they are meeting eligibility criteria.
Which businesses are eligible for the JobMaker program?
Employers do not need to demonstrate a fall in turnover to be eligible, but must:
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Be up-to-date with tax lodgement obligations
- Be registered for Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding
- Be reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP)
- Have created the role in addition to existing roles in the business
- Be claiming in respect of an eligible employee
- Keep accurate records of the paid hours the new employee has worked during the claim period.
Registrations for JobMaker opened on 7 December 2020 and can be completed at any point prior to claiming. Employers who don’t report through STP can visit the ATO website for details on how to register.
New businesses that did not have registered employees as of 30 September 2020 can claim hiring credits for the second person hired as well as any subsequent new hires, as long as they meet eligibility requirements.
Which employees are eligible for the JobMaker program?
Employees are eligible for the JobMaker scheme if they:
- Began working at the business between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021
- Are aged 16 to 35 when they began working at the business
- Worked or have been paid for an average of at least 20 hours per week they were employed in the JobMaker period
- Received either the JobSeeker payments, Parenting Payments or Youth Allowance for at least 28 consecutive days in the 84 days before they were hired at the business
- Are not receiving other forms of assistance from the business including JobKeeper.
Eligible employees should be asked to fill in a JobMaker employee notice upon their commencement should they be required to participate in the scheme.
What are the JobMaker key dates?
Key dates you should be mindful of are:
- 7 October 2020: the JobMaker scheme commences.
- 6 December 2020: the start date for JobMaker registrations.
- 6 October 2022: the JobMaker scheme ends.
The STP reporting due dates for each JobMaker period are:
| JobMaker period | JobMaker period dates | STP reporting due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2020 – 6 January 2021 | 27 April 2021 |
| 2 | 7 January 2021 – 6 April 2021 | 28 July 2021 |
| 3 | 7 April 2021 – 6 July 2021 | 28 October 2021 |
| 4 | 7 July 2021 – 6 October 2021 | 28 January 2022 |
| 5 | 7 October 2021 – 6 January 2022 | 27 April 2022 |
| 6 | 7 January 2022 – 6 April 2022 | 28 July 2022 |
| 7 | 7 April 2022 – 6 July 2022 | 28 October 2022 |
| 8 | 7 July 2022 – 6 October 2022 | 28 January 2023 |
How can Roubler help businesses manage JobMaker?
Roubler’s built in payroll and reporting tools make it easier to determine employee eligibility for JobMaker, keep track of employee notice documents, and report the relevant details through STP.
The JobMaker Eligibility Report provides you with employee information on their hours worked, age, employment start date, and employment type. You can also export this information in the various formats you might need.
With Roubler, you can also send the JobMaker notice documents directly to eligible employees, and keep track of the completed documents alongside the relevant employees within the system.
As part of the quarterly claim requirements, employers also need to report their JobMaker nominations and periods in the pay run, so that the ATO knows which employees are being claimed for. A built-in feature allows you to easily report what is required to ensure the incentives are paid correctly.
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For the latest information on JobKeeper payments and eligibility, visit the ATO website or learn more from our help article.