JobMaker vs JobKeeper vs JobSeeker: How each scheme works

If you’re confused about the federal government’s new stimulus packages, you’re not alone. But here’s everything you need to know.

The Australian government has rolled out a raft of stimulus measures in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

The measures include everything from specific payments to individuals to massive infrastructure plans and everything in between.

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But with so many new packages announced in such a short period of time, many Aussies are confused as to how each program works – and which will personally benefit them the most.

Here’s everything you should know.

JOBMAKER

JobMaker is part of the government’s economic plan to boost Australia’s post-coronavirus recovery.

It will include an overhaul of federal funding for vocational training, with $1.5 billion per year earmarked for state governments to put towards skills and training in a bid to secure jobs.

Under the JobMaker plan, five working groups made up of government, unions and business groups will look at industrial relations reforms designed to help coronavirus recovery.

They will review awards, enterprise bargaining agreements, casual work, union and employer misconduct and greenfields – agreements that set flat wages and conditions throughout the lifetime of a construction project.

It’s part of the government’s drive to end as quickly as possible the first recession in 29 years, blamed mostly on the restrictions forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A number of “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects will also start immediately, including the inland rail project from Melbourne to Brisbane, the Marinus undersea electricity link between Tasmania and Victoria, the Olympic Dam extension in South Australia, emergency town water projects in NSW and road, rail and iron ore projects in Western Australia.

Mr Morrison says joint assessment teams would work on accelerating the projects worth more than $72 billion in public and private investment, and supporting more than 66,000 direct and indirect jobs.

JOBKEEPER

The $1500-a-fortnight JobKeeper package was announced by the Federal Government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wage subsidy is designed to keep Aussies in jobs as the pandemic plays out, with early estimates indicating six million workers would benefit from the scheme in the largest stimulus package ever handed down in the country’s history.

The $130 billion scheme has been legislated to last for six months and is open to those employed at March 1 this year.

The eligibility extends from full-time workers to part-time and casuals but you must have been employed for at least 12 months. And the payments are only available to Australian citizens or holders of select work visas.

You can only get the JobKeeper payments from one employer and you can’t receive the JobSeeker payments on top of this.

The coronavirus crisis has cost countless Aussie jobs. Picture: William West/AFP

JOBSEEKER

In a nutshell, JobSeeker is a rebadged, rebooted version of the government payment previously known as the Newstart Allowance.

Aussie citizens and residents who have lost their job or income can apply, and it is available to those aged between 22 and 66.

The government increased the payment as a result of the crisis to $1100 a fortnight, but it is scheduled to halve back to its pre-COVID level from late October.

HOMEBUILDER

Another major stimulus package announced recently is the controversial HomeBuilder scheme, which will come in the form of $25,000 grants to help the residential construction industry recover from the coronavirus crisis.

Under the scheme, eligible owner-occupiers – including first home buyers – will get the payment to build a new home or “substantially renovate” an existing one.

The contract must be signed between June 4 and December 31, 2020, and construction must commence within three months of the contract date.

HomeBuilder will complement existing State and Territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, as well as the Commonwealth’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme, which means you could potentially get more than double the grant depending on where you live.

However, HomeBuilder has sparked backlash, with critics claiming the strict eligibility criteria will rule out those who need it most and that the narrow time frame will make it near impossible for many to benefit from it.