Australia’s delayed federal Budget 2020-21 includes employment-related developments that may impact employers.

Highlights

Job-maker hiring credit

Beginning 7 Oct 2020 for 12 months, employers can claim a new credit for each new job created for eligible young persons aged 16 to 35 years. The credit is A$200 a week for those aged 16 to 29 years and A$100 a week for those aged 30 to 35 years. 

Fringe-benefit tax (FBT) relief

• The Australian Tax Office will have increased powers to allow employers to rely on existing corporate records, rather than prescribed records, to complete their FBT returns. The goal is to reduce the time employers and employees spend on record-keeping.
• To encourage reskilling, employer-provided retraining activities for employees who have either been made redundant or who are about to be made redundant will be exempt from the 47% FBT tax.
• Employers will also be exempt from the FBT on car parking provided to employees and on multiple work-related portable electronic devices, such as phones or laptops, provided to employees. 

Related resources

Non-Mercer resources

• Budget 2020-21 Overview (Government, October 2020)
• Budget 2020-21: JobMaker Hiring Credit (Government, October 2020)
• Budget 2020-21: Lower taxes (Government, October 2020)

Mercer Law & Policy resources

• Australia’s 2020-21 budget includes health developments (16 Oct 2020)
• Australia: Budget flags further superannuation pension reforms (14 Oct 2020)