The government introduced JobKeeper to help all the businesses across Australia. All the businesses whose income has been reduced due to COVID-19 are eligible for it. At first, it was about to last till 27 September 2019. But later, the government extended it till January 2021. The number of home loan borrowers is also increasing day by day. Amidst such a state of confusion, we thought it would be helpful enough to answer some of your most popular questions.
The question that most people are worried about is whether the lenders will accept JobKeeper payment as a source of income or not?
Let us take a look at it:
Will your JobKeeper payment be accepted as a source of income?
There is no clear answer to it. Some of the lenders are considering it as a source of income, while others are not. This is happening because the lenders have come with certain criteria to do so. Check the criteria given below to know whether you are eligible for it or not?
- You should produce some evidence to show that you have received the past 3 months’ salaries in your bank account.
- A document from your employer describing the conditions that may alter your income.
- Document showing that you have received your JobKeeper payment in the bank account.
- If you are regularly working and you also get your salary on a regular basis, your JobKeeper payment will be considered income.
Lenders will not consider the JobKeeper payment as income of the people working in the following areas:
- Airlines
- Medicare
- Tourism
- Self-employed
- First home buyers
- In case you are regularly working, but you are getting a higher salary, they will not consider your JobKeeper payment as income.
- The JobKeeper salary of all those who are working less than regular hours will not be considered as a source of income.
Are there other effects that COVID-19 can have on the mortgage?
There are several probable effects of COVID-19 on the mortgage. We are going to talk about some of those effects in this section of the article.
- Fresh rules have been introduced to set up a whole new range of lending criteria. Anything that falls outside those lending rules is out of consideration nowadays.
- Banks are taking more than usual time in lending you money.
- In this hard time of COVID-19, some mortgage relief policies have been introduced.
- To cope with common peoples’ problems in this time of financial crisis, home loans are available at extremely low rates.
Is there something else that the banks need to know?
Apart from the things mentioned above, there are several other things that the banks need to know about you. Here is a brief look at all such things:
- Whether you are working for regular hours or your working hours have been reduced?
- Are there going to be any changes to your working hours?
- Are you receiving a salary from your employer if your working hour has been reduced?
- Has the JobKeeper payment increased your overall income?
But there is one thing you should care about. Getting the JobKeeper payment shows that your salary has been reduced. And the lenders will consider this thing while talking to you.
Who receives JobKeeper payments?
JobKeeper payments are made only for employers. And with the help of the JobKeeper fund, the employer pays salaries to his employees. Here is a list of businesses that can receive the JobKeeper payments:
- The aggregated turnover should be less than $1 billion, and the GST turnover should fall by at least 30%.
- If the aggregated turnover is more than $1 billion, the GST turnover should fall by at least 50%.
- And the business should not be subject to some bank levy.
Can a self-employed person get JobKeeper payment?
However, this scheme is not for employees but there are certain conditions under which a self-employed person can get JobKeeper payments. We are mentioning all such conditions below:
- The employee should be at least 16 years old and a permanent resident of Australia. If he is from anywhere else, he should have a permanent visa or a subclass 444 visa.
- He should have an active ABN before 12 March 2020 and be actively engaged in a business. The employee should not be a permanent employee of another company/business.
- If you run your business in partnership, only one partner is eligible for this scheme.
- When there are several directors in the company, only one partner can get the payment.
Can an employee work in a company be eligible for this scheme?
The government launched this scheme for employers, but an employee can get JobKeeper payments if his employer nominated him. Here are the eligibility criteria for all such employees:
- The employee must not have received JobKeeper payment from any other employer.
- He (employee) should be a permanent employee of a firm that is eligible for JobKeeper. (Long-term casual employee are not permanent).
- The employee should be at least 16 years old and have Australian citizenship. If he is not an Australian, he should have a permanent Australian VISA or subclass 444 VISA.