[lwptoc]
On 4 December 2020, the Treasurer registered a Legislative Instrument titled the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Amendment Rules (No. 9) 2020 (the Amendment Rules) to set out the details of the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme (the Scheme). These rules are summarised in our Banter Blog article titled JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme explained.
On the same day, the Commissioner registered a Legislative Instrument titled the JobMaker Hiring Credit Reporting Obligations Instrument 2020 (the Instrument) which sets out what, how and when employers must report in relation to the Scheme. This article outlines employers’ administrative obligations as set out in the Instrument and in ATO guidance.
Employers must register with the ATO before making a JobMaker claim, using Online services or the Business Portal. They do not need to be registered before hiring eligible employees.
Employers can register at any time before the end of their first claim period.
The Amendment Rules require the employer to:
The following summarises the notification and reporting requirements in the Instrument and the ATO guidance.
If an employer is subject to Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting, it must give certain information to the Commissioner for the JobMaker period before the reporting deadline:
The employee details to be reported are:
As the information is used to populate the claim form and in calculating the employer’s claim, a JobMaker Hiring Credit payment claim cannot be made until it is provided to the ATO through STP. This information will be populated in the claim form within 72 hours and used to calculate the employer’s claim.
The ATO is developing specifications setting out the JobMaker functionality for STP-enabled software. Information will become available on the ATO website.
Employers that are exempt from STP are to provide the above required information when making a JobMaker claim. They must be up to date with their PAYG withholding obligations due in the two years ending on the last day of the JobMaker period before making the claim. Generally, this will mean that the employer’s Business Activity Statement lodgments will need to be up to date.
When an employer makes a claim for a JobMaker Hiring Credit payment, it must provide the following details in relation to the period:
An employer must lodge the claim information via ATO Online services for Individuals, ATO Online Services for Business, Business Portal or Online Services for Agents or the Business Portal as part of the claims process, unless the employer is exempt from reporting through STP.
The information for a JobMaker period must be submitted during the corresponding claim period:
Important:
No exemptions or extensions are available. Once the claim period has ended, an employer can no longer make a claim for that period. Claim information cannot be amended after the claim period but amendments can be made during the claim period.
The Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Act 2020 (the Act) established the legislative framework under which the Commissioner has general administration of the JobKeeper Payment scheme and now the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme. Therefore, the provisions in the Act which apply to JobKeeper in relation to matters including payments, liability for repaying overpayments, record keeping and contrived schemes will also apply to JobMaker. The ATO may issue specific guidance on how it will administer these rules in the JobMaker context.
Eligible employees must complete a JobMaker employee notice as part of the eligibility requirements.
The notice must be completed before the employer makes a claim and the employer must receive a separate notice for each eligible employee for whom they intend to make a claim.
The ATO does not require the employee’s signature but the employer may choose to request it.
Employers may use the ATO’s JobMaker employee notice, or they may create their own employee notice containing the required information.
Reference:
The ATO’s JobMaker employee notice and guidance for creating an employee notice are here.
JobMaker payments are made in arrears following each JobMaker period. The ATO states that employers can generally expect to receive their payment within five days of their claim being processed.
An employer that receives a JobMaker amount to which it was not entitled or that was more than the entitlement is liable to repay the amount plus General interest charge (GIC).
If any overpayment results from an individual giving a notice to more than one entity, the individual may be jointly and severally liable to pay the overpayment and any general interest charge.
The ATO advises that employers should keep records of employment and hours worked by employees. Employers do not need to provide employee notices to the ATO but should retain them for their records.
If the ATO reviews an employer’s assessment of their eligibility, it will request supporting documentation which may include:
The Act allows the Commissioner to determine that an entity never became entitled to the payment, or that the amount to which the recipient was entitled was a different amount where the entity entered into or carried out the scheme for the sole or dominant purpose of obtaining or increasing the amount of the JobMaker payment.
The ATO states that it will check for concerning and fraudulent behaviour and claims, and will actively pursue those claims.
Behaviours that will concern the ATO include:
Businesses that have:
Employees who have:
Intermediaries, including tax or BAS agents, that have:
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