But rates will be cut and eligibility tightened.
The JobKeeper wage support is set to be extended until March next year in an announcement made today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. However, payments will decrease from $1,500 to $1,200 a fortnight when the scheme’s initial September end date arrives.
For the first three months of 2021, the payments will drop again to $1,000 a fortnight. For those working less than 20 hours per week, payments will drop to $750 a fortnight in September and to $650 a fortnight between January and March 2021.
The JobSeeker supplement will be extended for a further three months but will fall from $550 a fortnight to $250 a fortnight from September, meaning that those eligible will be entitled to $815 a fortnight for the ensuing three month period.
The JobKeeper eligibility has been tightened as well with businesses having to prove that they’re still in financial distress in each quarter. To remain eligible after September, companies will have show that they’re down at least 30 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.
It has been forecasted that 1.4 million people will be on JobKeeper in the final three months of 2020 with 1 million to be on it for the first three months of 2021.
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