The JobKeeper coronavirus payment is changing from Monday, September 28
Jobkeeper subsidies have been keeping many South Australians afloat – but from today, more than 200,000 workers and 55,500 businesses in South Australia will have the payments reduced or cut off entirely.
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Some South Australian businesses still struggling to bounce back from COVID-19 restrictions will narrowly miss out on JobKeeper 2.0 payments, while many workers could have their hours cut in coming weeks.
In all, more than 200,000 workers and 55,500 businesses in South Australia will have their JobKeeper payments reduced or cut off entirely from Monday.
SA’s worst-hit businesses, whose turnover is still down 30 per cent or more, can reapply for another three to six months of JobKeeper to help pay their staff’s wages.
But the payments will drop from a flat rate of $1500-a-fortnight to $1200, or $750 for employees who worked less than 20 hours before the virus, under a new two-tier system to wean businesses off the taxpayer-funded support.
The wage subsidy will continue at the new rate until the end of 2020 and then drop further to $1000 and $650 a fortnight from January until the end of March.
SA businesses have received about $3.13bn under the scheme so far.
Business SA chief executive Martin Haese said many businesses had recovered well in the past eight weeks, but some whose turnover was down significantly, but less than 30 per cent, would narrowly miss out.
Mr Haese said winding back JobKeeper, which is likely to cost taxpayers $101.3 billion in total, was “very sensible”.
It would have been “cataclysmic” if the support had just been cut off in September and not extended, he said.
But Mr Haese urged the Federal Government to deploy “more nuanced and more targeted stimulus” on top of JobKeeper for businesses that rely on international visitors.
Hundreds of hospitality businesses would struggle and could collapse if they narrowly missed out on JobKeeper 2.0, Australian Hotels Association SA boss Ian Horne said.
“I suspect that there will be a number of people who will have their hours reviewed, and operators will have to look very carefully at their rostering,” he said.
“Businesses just aren’t viable long term if they’re at 50 per cent [capacity].”
Martin Kloeckner, who runs Adelaide’s BBQ Buoys, said JobKeeper had helped his businesses stay afloat.
He will reapply for three months of support for three staff but hopes the company will rebound enough over summer that they won’t need it in 2021.
“It was a very big help and we’re very glad to be one of the companies that received it,” he said.
“We can live with a drop.”
He said it was fair the government revised the expensive scheme, but it would help if casuals and employees with the company for less than 12 months could receive it.
Tourism Industry Council SA chief Shaun de Bruyn said many tourism businesses had recovered from South Australians holidaying at home, but those who relied on overseas visitors were struggling.
He backed the two-tier system, but said the top payment rate should remain at $1500.
SA Council of Social Service acting chief executive Catherine Earl said cuts to JobSeeker and JobKeeper would mean less economic stimulus for SA.
“We would have seen a lot more jobs retained and created by that stimulus,” she said.
“Cutting their supplements and their money is not going to … drive more people into work.
“The fact is that the jobs are just not there for people to go into.”
