Don't miss out on a $10,000 wage subsidy!

Employing staff can be costly and time-consuming at the best of times – Don’t miss out on any Federal Government incentives that you are entitled to receive!

Under the new ‘employer focused’ jobactive model there is now a vast pool of job-ready candidates who attract a wage subsidy.

Wage subsidies are a financial incentive to encourage employers to hire eligible participants in ongoing jobs by contributing to the initial costs of hiring a new employee. Wage subsidies can help to build a business and give employers greater flexibility in their hiring options.

Gone are the days of wage subsidies being reserved for only the very disadvantaged job-seekers. Today, the majority of jobactive candidates attract a generous wage subsidy.

Up to $10,000 (inc GST) is available for new employees who are:

• 15 to 24 years of age,
• Indigenous Australians, or
• 50 years of age and over.

Up to $6,500 (inc GST) is available for new employees who are:

• 25 to 29 years of age,
• parents, or
• registered with an employment services provider for 12 months or more.

For a summary of what’s available see the Wage Subsidies fact sheet on the Department of Education, Skills & Employment website. 

Eligible businesses can receive payments over a six month period from employment services providers. Employers can negotiate how often they are made, for example weekly or fortnightly.

Employers can access a wage subsidy if they:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• have not previously received a wage subsidy for the same person
• are not an Australian, state or territory government agency
• offer a job that is expected to be ongoing and for an average of 20 hours per week over the six months of the wage subsidy agreement
• offer a job that complies with employment standards for the position - for example, is suitable work and pays as a minimum the national award wage.

Some jobs are not eligible for a wage subsidy, including:

• work that displaces an existing employee
• commission-based, subcontracting or self-employment positions and
• work for an immediate family member.

How to manage a wage subsidy

A wage subsidy consists of a head agreement and individual schedules for each new employee. These can be viewed and managed via the jobactive website.

For more information about how to manage a wage subsidy agreement see the Managing Wage Subsidies – how to guide found below:

• Managing Wage Subsidies – how to guide

References:

• SunSuper - Don’t miss out on a $10,000 Federal Government wage subsidy
• Department of Education, Skills & Employment – Restart Helps Mature Workers
• Department of Education, Skills & Employment – Wage Subsidies