We have received a number of enquiries with regard to the proposed government business stimulus package. The announcement was made on the 12th March and below is what we know so far. Please note that at this stage we are focusing on the business stimulus and not the stimulus to households.
If a trainee or apprentice was employed by an eligible employer* on or before 1 March 2020, the employer can apply for a wage subsidy of 50% of their wage up to a maximum of $21,000 between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2020. This subsidy is also available to eligible employers who were unable to retain an apprentice for any part of the above period.
To access this subsidy, eligible employers will need to be assessed by an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider . A link to their website is here https://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/search-aasn
*Eligible employer are businesses with less than $50 million annual turnover and fewer than 20 full time employees.
To see a comprehensive summary of how the ATO are applying relief due to the Coronavirus, please click on the link below:
https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Dealing-with-disasters/In-detail/Specific-disasters/COVID-19/
