JobKeeper Payment – Steps to Apply Yourself

Prepare to Enrol

1. Check your business meets the eligibility requirements, including the turnover test. The turnover calculation is based on GST turnover. This applies even if an entity is not registered for GST.
2. Check your employees meet the eligibility requirements and for which JobKeeper fortnights. You must pay your eligible employees in each JobKeeper pay period to claim the JobKeeper payment for that period.
3. If you are a director or a shareholder of a company, a partner in a partnership, or an adult beneficiary of a trust, consider whether you will nominate as an eligible business participant and check you meet the eligibility requirements.
4. Re-hire or re-engage employees you let go or stood down as well as pay them if you want to claim the JobKeeper payment for them.
5. Continue to pay at least $1,500 to each eligible employee per JobKeeper fortnight (the first JobKeeper fortnight was the period from 30 March to 12 April).
6. Notify all your eligible employees that you are intending to claim the JobKeeper payment on their behalf and check they aren’t claiming the JobKeeper payment through another employer or have nominated through another business.
7. Send the JobKeeper employee nomination notice to all your nominated employees to complete and return to you by the end of April if you plan to claim JobKeeper payment for April. Keep it on file.
8. If you use the Business Portal, you will need a myGovID linked to your ABN in relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). You can find out how to set this up at ato.gov.au/mygovid

Step 1: Enrol for the JobKeeper payment

4. Notify all your eligible employees you have nominated them.
5. To ensure you receive your JobKeeper payments as early possible, you should enrol by the end of April. However, enrolments are open until the end of May if you need more time.

Step 2: Identify and maintain your eligible employees

1. If you have STP enabled payroll software, you can identify your employees in one of the following ways:
   • Directly into your STP enabled payroll software if it is updated with JobKeeper functionality.
   • In the Business Portal if your STP payroll software is not updated with JobKeeper functionality
     • If you have 200 employees or less, log in to the Business Portal and select employee details that are prefilled from your STP pay reports.
2. If you don’t have STP enabled payroll software, you can identify your employees in one of the following ways:
   • In the Business Portal
     • If you have 40 employees or less, manually enter your eligible employees’ details
     • If you have more than 40 employees, you can use the JobKeeper Payment Guide sample payload files – Blank file (XLS, 11KB)This link will download a file and Example file (XLS, 11KB)This link will download a file – to produce your own JobKeeper report and provide it back to the ATO by uploading via the Business Portal Transfer file function or consider moving to an STP enabled payroll solution.

Step 3: Make a business monthly declaration

1. Each month, you must reconfirm your reported eligible employees. This can be done through the Business Portal.
2. If your eligible employees change or leave your employment, you will need to notify the ATO through the business monthly declaration report.
3. You must also provide information as to your current and projected GST turnover. This is not a retest of your eligibility, but rather an indication of how your business is progressing under the JobKeeper Payment scheme.

What you need to do for your employees

You need to identify your eligible employees and tell them you intend to claim the JobKeeper payment for them.

If you are participating in the JobKeeper Payment scheme you need to include all eligible employees.

You need to provide these employees with the JobKeeper employee nomination notice and ask them to return it to you by the end of April if you want to claim JobKeeper payment for April.

If your employees have multiple employers, they can usually choose which employer they want to nominate through. However, if your employees are long-term casuals and have other permanent employment, they cannot nominate you. They cannot be nominated for the JobKeeper payment by more than one employer.

If an employee is receiving or in the process of applying for a Services Australia income support payment, like JobSeeker payment, they should contact Services AustraliaExternal Link and let them know that their employer has applied for the JobKeeper payment. The ATO and Services Australia are working together to share information to identify instances of the incorrect eligibility for JobKeeper or JobSeeker. If your employee does not report the income or cancel their JobSeeker payment, they may incur a debt that you will be required to pay back.