JobKeeper: $1500 payment could be slashed for casuals

Despite announcing less than half of the workers expected to sign up for JobKeeper will get it, the PM won’t rule out more cuts.

Scott Morrison has offered a guarantee that the JobKeeper payment will not be scrapped before September but he’s not ruling out slashing the $1500 wage subsidy for casuals who previously earned less.

Despite announcing that less than half of the workers expected to sign up for the wage subsidy will now secure the JobKeeper allowance, the Morrison Government could reduce JobKeeper payments to some workers.

A Treasury review is examining changes to the amount paid to some casuals following confirmation that Australian teenagers are securing the flat-rate $1500 payment regardless of whether they previously earned substantially less.

But thousands of other new casuals, including single mothers and parents have missed out on the payments because they have not worked for a single employer for 12 months or longer.

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The Morrison Government is also examining whether companies that have bounced back should still be eligible for the cash for the entire duration of the program.

Asked whether JobKeeper will be reduced for those earning more than they previously earned as casuals, the Prime Minister declined to rule it out on Friday.

“Around the world, whether in New Zealand or Canada or the United Kingdom or other places, we knew that this would hit hard and it would hit long,” he said.

“And so we took the early step to put in place a program twice as long as those in other comparable jurisdictions, we set it up with a review to be undertaken in those first three months and that is what is happening and I don’t plan to prejudice that review.

“We will take that advice as we prepare the statement which the Treasurer will hand down in July and that will take into account that review.

“The six months provision of JobKeeper has been set out in legislation and people can count on that.”

Asked again if he could “guarantee” the wage subsidy will remain in place in September, the Prime Minister replied, “Yes.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison guaranteed at a press conference today that the JobKeeper will remain in place until September – but did not specify whether fortnightly payments of $1500 would be reduced. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

But guaranteeing the payment will remain in place for most companies does preclude the option of reducing the payment for some workers or companies.

When the scheme was first announced in March, it was proposed that companies could qualify simply by establishing a downturn of more than 30 per cent in revenue.

However, companies have been required to post monthly updates to the Australian Taxation Office on revenue, which could be used to overhaul the scheme before the September 27 end date.

News.com.au first revealed exclusively on May 11 that a Treasury review was considering the current JobKeeper scheme with a view to reducing the $1500 subsidy, targeting it at smaller businesses, or limiting it to particular industries that were hardest hit by COVID restrictions.

The Prime Minister subsequently confirmed that he was examining “anomalies” in the $1500 payment.

On May 25, News.com.au revealed that workers who scored a coronavirus pay rise under the $1500 JobKeeper scheme were the target of a secret audit to discover how many winners were getting “overpaid” under the handouts.

Teenagers are the only workers in the country to secure a pay-rise during the coronavirus pandemic and the flat-rate $1500 JobKeeper allowance is widely believed to be the main factor.

The Treasury review of the scheme has sought advice on how to drill down and find out how many workers were legally getting more cash under JobKeeper than they previously earned.

Earlier this week, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hinted that the $1500 flat-rate payment could be reduced for some casuals who previously earned less than the handout and are currently securing a pay rise under the COVID-19 wage subsidies.

“We want to understand whether the quantum, that $1500 payment, continues to be the right amount, also bearing in mind that some people are getting paid more than they would otherwise get by virtue of having a flat payment,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“We want to understand whether $1,500 continues to be the right amount,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said at a press conference on Friday. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The Treasurer also hinted that some companies that were no longer struggling might be reconsidered for eligibility for JobKeeper payments.

“In the context of an economy, where the restrictions are being eased, and people are getting back into work, we need to assess – and particularly paying a focus to certain sectors as well – we need to assess the continuation of that JobKeeper program in that context,” he said.

“It’s too early to pre-empt what the outcomes of that review will be, but any government decisions about the review will be incorporated into that statement that the Finance Minister and I will make in July.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the Morrison Government will have more to say on the potential changes in late July.

“We are in a much stronger position today than we had feared when we put this scheme in place towards the end of March,” he said. “But we will be reviewing the data, reviewing the information, reviewing the advice and make decisions at a time when all of that is in front of us.”

Liberal backbencher Jason Falinski has called for the $70 billion JobKeeper scheme to be phased out as parents return to work and children return to school.