A couple of weeks ago the NSW Government announced you will need to reconfirm your employee headcount and level of decline each fortnight in order for your business to continue receiving fortnightly JobSaver Payments.

The fortnight initially chosen by Service NSW was the period 30th August to 11th (should have been 12th) September but after much pushback from the accounting industry, Service NSW have given everyone an extra fortnight’s grace. Therefore, the first fortnight you’ll need to look at is for the period 13th September to 26th September 2021.

Each fortnight going forward, you’ll receive an email from Service NSW asking you to confirm that your business does (or doesn’t) continue to maintain your employee headcount as at 13th July (as per your initial application for JobSaver) and experience at least the 30% decline in turnover required.

It’s important to note that your business can swing in and out of receiving this payment i.e. just because you are not eligible one fortnight does not mean that you cannot become eligible again in a subsequent fortnight, then become ineligible and then eligible again etc. etc.

It’s also important to note how to calculate your level of decline going forward. There are three options here….

Firstly, let’s say Service NSW has asked you to look at the fortnight 13th to 26th September 2021….

1. You can compare this fortnight with the original fortnight you used for comparison in 2019 or 2020 i.e. Compare your turnover between 13th September to 26th September 2021 with your turnover in the original fortnight you used for comparison in your initial application e.g. 4th July to 17th July 2019;

2. You can compare this fortnight with the corresponding fortnight in 2019 or 2020, depending on which year you originally chose for comparison (and you must use the same year as before) i.e. Compare your turnover between 13th September to 26th September 2021 with 13th September to 26th September 2019 if that was the year you initially chose for comparison when you first applied for JobSaver;

3. You can compare this fortnight with the fortnight before lockdown began. However, you can only use this fortnight for comparison if this was the fortnight you used as your initial comparison period i.e. Compare your turnover between 13th September to 26th September 2021 with your turnover between 12th June to 25th June 2021 if this was your initial comparison period.

Please also note that whichever of these options you choose, you must stick with this going forward. That is, you cannot change your method of comparison from fortnight to fortnight.

It’s also worth noting if your business is closed during the fortnight in question and therefore cannot trade due to the Public Health Order, you don’t need to do any comparison. You can just tick a box and not do any further work.

P.S.  We appreciate this can all be a bit confusing, especially at a stressful time like the Greater Sydney lockdown, so please reach out for some help so your business can continue to receive these payments if it’s eligible. Get in contact NOW at  bettina@tradiesbookkeeping.com.au or 0424 467 921.