Applications for the federal government’s $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy package will open on April 20, leaving the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) less than three weeks to process claims and begin the flow of payments.
Tax office officials have begun working through administration provisions to deliver $1,500 fortnightly payments to an expected six million Australian workers in May and yesterday released new advice for prospective applicants.
With applications to flow in from next Monday, officials are also working to clarify eligibility criteria after more than 800,000 firms expressed interest in the subsidies, raising concern the ATO could be flooded with requests for alternative tests or tax commissioner discretion.
But as of Wednesday morning, the ATO remains tight-lipped about the likely extent of alternative tests for employers worried they will not meet headline eligibility criteria, promising more details would be available in coming days.
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