JobKeeper will be available for almost one million more Victorians before Christmas as Scott Morrison extends $16B lifeline to businesses crippled by stage four lockdown restrictions
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison has changed JobKeeper eligibility requirements
- Businesses will only have to prove 30% revenue decline for one quarter
- Changes mean 740,000 extra Victorians will be on scheme before December
- JobKeeper scheme will now cost $101.6billion, up $15.6billion from $86billion
An extra 740,000 Victorians will be on JobKeeper before Christmas as the government pumps $15.6billion more into the scheme in response to Melbourne's draconian stage-four lockdown.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has changed the eligibility requirements to make sure thousands of Melbourne businesses that have been forced to close their doors for six weeks have access to the support.
To qualify for JobKeeper from 28 September, businesses will only need to show a 30 per cent drop in revenue in the September quarter compared to the same time last year.
Previously, they were required to prove a 30 per cent drop for the September and June quarters to qualify.
An extra 740,000 Victorians will be on JobKeeper before Christmas. Pictured: A woman jogging in Melbourne on Thursday
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has changed the JobKeeper eligibility requirements to make sure thousands of Melbourne businesses that have been forced to close their doors for six weeks have access to the support. Pictured: Melbourne on Thursday
To qualify from January 4, companies will need to prove the 30 per cent revenue drop for only the December quarter, instead of all three of the previous quarters.
The reason for the change is that some companies which will take a huge hit due to stage-four restrictions may not have previously qualified if their revenue was not down by 30 per cent in the June quarter.
Furthermore, from 3 August, employees will become eligible for the scheme if they have been on their company's books since 1 July instead of 1 March.
This is because the government wants to ensure companies which have hired new staff can still get the payment for their employees.
The payment amounts, which decrease from $1,500-a-fortnight to $1,200 from September 28 and then to $1,000 from 4 January for full-time workers, remain unchanged.
Stage four restrictions in Victoria will cost the national economy around $9billion. Pictured: Scott Morrison
The changes and the effect of stage-four shut downs mean that an extra 530,000 Victorians are expected to be getting Jobkeeper in the September quarter, Treasury estimates.
That will take the total number of Victorians receiving the payment to 1.5million, up from the previously estimated figure of 970,000.
Treasury predicts the number of extra Victorians on Jobkeeper will hit 740,000 in the December quarter, with the state total at 1.36million as others drop off the scheme while some businesses recover.
In the March quarter, the proportion of Jobkeeper employees who are Victorian will be 60 per cent instead of 44 per cent as previously predicted.
An extra $15.6billion is being pumped into the scheme, taking the total expected cost of the extraordinary program to $101.6billion.
Some $4.5billion of that is due to more people going on JobKeeper in the September quarter following stage-four restrictions and $11.1billion is due to eligibility changes to the scheme.
Mr Morrison said: 'We're doing whatever it takes to save lives and save livelihoods.
'Australia is facing a situation that is constantly changing. Our response is to get the right support to all those Australian families, workers and businesses that need us, as these circumstances change.
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'This means more support for more workers and more businesses for longer, as we battle this latest Victorian wave.'
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg added: 'We will continue to do what is necessary to cushion the blow and help Australians get to the other side.'
Before Victoria's stage four lockdown, Treasury expected the national number receiving Jobkeeper would decline from 3.5million in June to 1.4million in the December quarter.
An updated national figure is not yet available because Treasury is still calculating what the changes mean for the other states and territories.
Stage four restrictions in Victoria will cost the national economy between $7billion and $9billion in the September quarter, Mr Morrison said on Wednesday.
Some 80 per cent of that will be lost in Victoria while the remainder will be lost in other states due to confidence and supply chain impacts, Mr Morrison said.
Treasury expects that the stage four restrictions will put between 250,000 and 400,000 Victorians out of work.
As a result, the national unemployment rate is due to hit 10 per cent before December, higher than the previously predicted 9.25 per cent.
JobKeeper is expected to cost an extra $15.6billion, taking the total expected cost of the scheme to $101.6billion. Pictured: Empty Melbourne during lockdown
Victoria reported 725 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday and 471 on Thursday. Pictured: A cyclist in Albert Park, Melbourne on Wednesday
And the effective unemployment rate, which includes people not looking for work, will increase from 11 per cent to above 13 per cent.
Mr Morrison said the combined effect of stage three and four restrictions would reduce GDP by between $10billion and $12billion in the September quarter.
'This is a heavy blow, a heavy blow,' he said.
Melbourne has been in stage-four lockdown since Sunday with schools shut, weddings banned, and citizens restricted to within a 5km radius of their homes.
Between 8pm and 5am, residents are only allowed to leave their house for work and essential health, care or safety reasons.
From Thursday, only essential businesses are allowed to open and workers must have permits to let them travel to work.
The state suffered its worst day of the COVID-19 outbreak on Wednesday, with 725 new cases and 15 deaths, including Australia's youngest victim - a man in his 30s.
A total of 471 new cases and eight deaths were reported on Thursday.
What is open in Melbourne Stage 4
Supermarkets, bottle shops, petrol stations, pharmacies, post offices, banks
Retailers working onsite to fulfill online orders
Hardware, building an garden supplies for trade
Specialist stationery for business use
Motor vehicle parts for emergency repairs, mechanics
Locksmiths, laundry and dry cleaners, maternity supplies
Disability and health services and equipment, mobility devices
Farms and commercial fishing
Vets, pounds and animal shelters
Supermarkets will stay open
Construction of critical infrastructure and services to support those projects
Critical repairs to homes where required for emergency or safety
Cafes and restaurants for takeaway
Media
Critical service call centres
Medicare
Law enforcement and courts for urgent matters
Prisons, facilities for parolees, adult parole board, youth justice facilities
Emergency services
Essential maintenance and manufacturing
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