The JobKeeper Payment has been extended by a further six months to March 2021, targeting support to those organisations which continue to be significantly impacted by COVID-19. From 28 September 2020, eligibility for the JobKeeper Payment will be based on actual turnover in the relevant periods. The payment rate will be reduced and a lower payment rate will be introduced for those who work fewer hours. Other eligibility rules remain unchanged. Business eligibility Organisations seekin...

Have casual workers been granted annual leave? News headlines recently stated that casual workers have won the right to paid leave following a decision in the Federal Court. As usual, the devil is in the detail. At present, there is no global change granting Australian casual workers paid leave. The case however, highlights the long running problem of determining over time, who is a permanent staff member and entitled to paid leave and other benefits, and who is a casual worker entitled...

The JobKeeper subsidy has progressed beyond the rush for eligibility and entered its second phase: compliance. Late last month, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released guidance highlighting where the regulator will focus its compliance resources. The JobKeeper estimates error Hindsight is a dangerous lens as Treasury discovered last month announcing that the number of employees expected to be covered by the JobKeeper scheme was overstated in the original announcement by approximat...

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in dramatic and unprecedented changes for many families and households, impacting social lives, workplaces and finances. As financial advisers, we are responding to the unfolding crisis to assist our clients to manage the financial repercussions. From looking at how the Government's measures will impact your finances, to developing a plan to assist you to be positioned in the best possible way to make it through this period, we can provide suppo...

Now is not the time to try and time the markets     After showing great resilience, and perhaps a degree of complacency, equity markets have fallen sharply in recent days. A relatively sudden surge of confirmation of corona virus outbreaks outside of China has been the main trigger for the correction. However, Apple's removal of previous earnings guidance and a deterioration in some leading economic indicators (such as the preliminary reading of the U.S. Purchasing Mana...