News Alert: JobKeeper and JobSeeker Extensions & Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme

JobKeeper Extension
On Tuesday 21 July 2020, the Government announced its plan to extend the JobKeeper Payment scheme until 28 March 2021, instead of the original completion date of 27 September 2020. While the scheme will run for a further six months, the payment rates will be stepped-down and the eligibility turnover tests will be applied again in order to target support towards those businesses still significantly impacted by the Coronavirus.

JobSeeker Extension
The Government also announced extensions to income support for individuals,  including the JobSeeker Payment. In addition to this, the Coronavirus Supplement will be extended to 31 December 2020 but at a reduced rate which the Government believes is reflective of the improving economic and labour market conditions.

Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme
The Coronavirus Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Guarantee Scheme was introduced to encourage lenders to provide support to SMEs suffering from the impacts of the Coronavirus. The Government is guaranteeing 50% of the new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs and have announced further increases to the loan size and available term.

For more information on these announcements, please click here for our full review