Pay back clause could have undermined JobKeeper

Michael Read and Tom McIlroy

Oct 27, 2023 – 5.22pm

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Making profitable companies pay back JobKeeper wage subsidies could have undermined the pandemic-era support scheme and damaged confidence, according to a review that found the program should only be revived in a severe economic crisis.

The report by former senior treasury official Nigel Ray concluded the $88.8 billion JobKeeper scheme played a critical role steering the Australian economy through the pandemic, despite a handful of costly design flaws.

Michael Read is the Financial Review's economics correspondent, reporting from the federal press gallery at Parliament House. He was previously an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia and at UBS.

Tom McIlroy is the Financial Review’s Canberra bureau chief based in the press gallery at Parliament House. He was previously the AFR’s political correspondent.