How to confirm JobSaver & Micro Business Grant eligibility 20 September 2021

Updated based on the information released on Service NSW website as of 11am on 20 September 2021.

JOBSAVER

The Service NSW has updated the guidance on how to confirm your business’ eligibility each fortnight to continue receiving payments.

The Service NSW has also confirmed, becoming ineligible for one fortnight does not disqualify a business from becoming eligible again in a future fortnight where they meet the eligibility conditions. You will not need to re-apply.

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/confirm-your-business-still-eligible-jobsaver

Eligibility

You must be currently receiving the JobSaver payment and confirm that you:

• have continued to experience a decline in turnover of 30% or more, compared to:

the same period in 2019, or

the same period in 2020,or

the 2-week period immediately before lockdown started in your area.

• are maintaining your employee headcount stated in your application, if you are an employing business.

How to confirm

1. Select the ‘Confirm your eligibility’ button.
2. Log in to your MyServiceNSW Business Profile.
3. Follow the steps to confirm your eligibility.

Choosing a comparison period

If your business was closed during the fortnight for which you are confirming your eligibility, you can indicate that you have continued to experience a decline in turnover of at least 30% by selecting 'yes' on the confirmation screen. You are not required to perform a calculation of decline in turnover. 

If your business has continued to trade and experienced a decline in turnover of at least 30% for the fortnight for which you are confirming your eligibility, you can demonstrate the decline in turnover using one of the following options.

Note: You need to use the same option each time you reconfirm your eligibility.

When you first applied for JobSaver you liaised with us and we provided you with an accountants letter specifying a comparison period. This was your initial comparison period.

If your initial comparison period was in 2019 or 2020

You can use the same year, but the corresponding fortnight as the current fortnight for which you are reconfirming your eligibility.

For example, if you initially compared the period of 26 July to 8 August 2021 to 26 July to 8 August 2019, and you are now reconfirming your eligibility for the period of 13 September to 26 September 2021, then your comparison period is 13 September to 26 September 2019. You cannot use 13 September to 26 September 2020 as your comparison period in this example.

Alternately, you can use the same comparison period that you used in your application.

For example, if you initially compared the period of 26 July to 8 August 2021 to 26 July to 8 August 2019, and you are now reconfirming your eligibility for the period of 13 September to 26 September 2021, then your comparison period remains 26 July to 8 August 2019. This comparison period will remain fixed for all future periods.

If 12 June to 25 June 2021 was your initial comparison period

In this case, you must use the same period as your initial application.

For example, if you initially compared the period of 26 July to 8 August 2021 to 12 June to 25 June 2021, and you are now reconfirming your eligibility for the period of 13 September to 26 September 2021, then your comparison period remains 12 June to 25 June 2021. This comparison period will remain fixed for all future periods.

Common Questions – Reconfirming eligibility https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/jobsaver-payment-common-questions

Fortnightly reconfirmation

With some industries and regions beginning to emerge from restrictions, we’re asking businesses to reconfirm their eligibility every fortnight.

JobSaver is paid on a fortnightly basis. You’ll be asked to reconfirm your eligibility for each payment at the end of each fortnight for the duration of the program.

You will receive your payment within 5 business days of reconfirming your eligibility.

September payments will continue even if you do not confirm eligibility. However, any payments after that will only be processed once eligibility is confirmed.

Delaying reconfirmation

You can delay your reconfirmation if, for example, you need to finalise your month-end accounting records. You can reconfirm for multiple fortnights in one go. Your MyServiceNSW Business Profile will show you the fortnights for which confirmation is still required.

Businesses that are still impacted by restrictions.

If your business is closed due to restrictions or is still experiencing a decline in turnover of 30% of more, you can complete the reconfirmation process by indicating that you still meet the decline in turnover requirement.

You will not need to provide any additional evidence or attach any documentation when reconfirming your eligibility. You’ll need to maintain adequate records to show evidence of your eligibility if required at a later date.

For example, if your business had a decline in turnover of 50% when you first applied, and your turnover has only increased by the equivalent of up to 20% since then, this means your business continues to experience a decline in turnover of 30% or more and is still eligible for JobSaver payments.

The person that submitted the initial application is required to submit the reconfirmation of eligibility. If an accountant, registered tax agent or registered BAS agent applied on behalf of your business, they will need to reconfirm eligibility for your business.

Comparison periods

The comparison period means the period in 2019, or 2020, or the period from 12 June to 25 June 2021 that was compared to the turnover in a period starting on or after 26 June 2021 to work out whether your business or not-for-profit organisation experienced a decline in turnover of 30% or more due to the impact of the public health order.

If the comparison period used in the initial application was more than 2 weeks (for example, a 3-week period, 4-week period or 5-week period), the turnover amount for the comparison period must be converted to a fortnightly amount for comparison purposes to the current turnover by dividing by the number of days in the period and multiplying by 14.

Businesses eligible for some fortnights and not others

As eligibility will be reconfirmed each fortnight, some businesses may be eligible one fortnight and not eligible the next fortnight if their decline in turnover decreases again.

Becoming ineligible for one fortnight does not disqualify a business from becoming eligible again in a future fortnight where they meet the eligibility conditions. You will not need to re-apply. You will be given the opportunity to declare your eligibility every fortnight through email reminders.  

MICRO BUSINESS GRANT

The rules are similar to the above except micro business grant has a different fortnight cycle.

Please refer links below for details.

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/confirm-your-business-still-eligible-covid-19-micro-business-grant

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/2021-covid-19-micro-business-grant-common-questions

Important: Clients should not act solely on the basis of the material contained in this newsletter. Items herein are general comments only and do not constitute or convey advice per se. Also changes in legislation may occur quickly. We therefore recommend that our formal advice be sought before acting in any of the areas. Client Alert is issued as a helpful guide to clients and for their private information. Therefore it should be regarded as confidential and not be made available to any person without our prior approval.