JobSaver participants will need to start performing fortnightly testing to confirm continued eligibility for the grant. Earlier this month Service NSW announced that 13 – 26 September 2021 will be the first fortnight for which confirmation will be required.

Although the announcement was a surprise to businesses and advisors, at least we now know the required action that business owners must take.

Step 1 – Measure Decline in Turnover

Although the familiar 30% decline* requirement is unchanged, the comparison rules have changed.

You will now have to compare the fortnight in question (for example, 13 September – 26 September) to either:

  • The same 14 day comparison period** used in your original application, or
  • The same fortnight in either the 2019 or 2020 year

Where a business has used a period greater than 14 days in their original application, a 14 day average will need to be used. That is calculated by dividing the turnover by the days in the testing period and then multiplying by 14.

* On 2 September 2021 it was announced that some Not for Profits would be eligible for JobSaver under a lower 15% decline. We are still seeking further information on this change generally and how it relates to this new testing.

**comparison period’ refers to the period used to represent normal trading in the original JobSaver application. These were the allowable periods in 2019, 2020 or the 12-25 June 2021.

Step 2 – Assess Employee Headcount

Although maintaining employee headcount has always been a requirement of JobSaver, you will now need to confirm ongoing compliance.

The original conditions still apply to the definition of maintaining headcount, such as employees leaving outside of the control of the employer being okay.

Step 3 – Lodge Your Confirmation

Updates will need to be lodged via your Service NSW business profile for each fortnight.

Fortunately, Service NSW state that no further documentation will need to be lodged as part of this confirmation. It will therefore be simply a disclosure of your findings from Steps 1 and 2.

Documentation of any testing must be kept, even if lodgement isn’t required.

It should also be noted that where a business has been inactive during lockdown, Service NSW will not expect any testing of turnover.

Confirmations are lodged via Service NSW

Other Important Details

It is possible to delay lodgement of each JobSaver update. You won’t receive payment until the confirmation is lodged, but payment will still be available once that occurs.

Where a business finds they don’t experience the required decline in one fortnight and miss out on payment, they are still open to re-application into the JobSaver scheme for future periods.