Scott Morrison has suggested the jobkeeper wage subsidy could be “adjusted” to provide more targeted support, as Labor signals it could support trimming the payment for some workers in return for expanded eligibility.
Discussions of amending the $130bn program comes as the government restarts early access to superannuation, paused over the weekend to make integrity improvements after an alleged fraud, and Labor’s plan to reverse changes to consultation on workplace pay deals appears to have fallen flat due to opposition from One Nation.
The jobkeeper program currently supports 5m workers, despite having capacity to help 6m, which has added to Labor and union calls to expand the payment to 1m casuals with 12 months or less service with the one employer and 1.1m temporary visa workers.
After the prime minister refused to rule out changes to the payment on Friday, news.com.au has reported Treasury is considering options including retargeting the payment at specific industries or scrapping the flat rate, which has allowed some workers who usually earn less than $1,500 a fortnight to receive more from the subsidy than their wages.
Asked about potential changes on Monday, Morrison warned against speculation, given “we’re six weeks into a six-month program”.
“How that program can be adjusted to provide better support over that period, or if there are sectors that come under strain over a longer period of time, these are all things the government is fully aware of,” he told reporters in Canberra.
Morrison said the government might also have to adjust the wage subsidy and jobseeker unemployment benefits “based on advice and the strength of the economy and how many people we are getting back to jobs”.
Employer groups have not yet been consulted on possible changes, but are wary that scrapping the flat rate of $1,500 per worker a fortnight may restore the incentive for employees to return to work but lose the simplicity of its design.
The Australian Tax Office currently requires only the number of eligible employees claiming the payment at each business, but scaling back the payment for workers who usually earn less than $1,500 a fortnight would require employers reporting employees’ hours and verification from the ATO.
But Labor signalled it is open to discussing the option. Labor’s industrial relations spokesman, Tony Burke, told Guardian Australia: “We called for the government to subsidise wages, not multiply them. From day one we’ve said the scheme should be better targeted, so that the people who really need it can get it but we don’t waste taxpayers’ money.
“It’s not fair that a single woman working to support three children misses out because she’s only been in her casual job for 11 months, but a uni student who lives at home and works a few hours a week for pocket money gets a massive pay rise.
“Labor will consider any proposals to better target the scheme so that it reaches more people who need it.”
The debate over the program’s design comes amid claims some employers have taken advantage of the program, while other eligible workers remain locked out of the subsidy.
Victorian Trades Hall Council’s JobScammer website has received more than 400 complaints from workers about potential rorting of the scheme, the union peak body said.
Luke Hilakari, the VTHC secretary, said the complaints included serious claims such as bosses breaching the scheme’s rules by refusing to pay the subsidy in full or demanding workers increase their usual hours to the value of $1,500 a fortnight.
Other businesses had been accused “picking and choosing” which employess to include in what is supposed to be a “one-in, all-in” scheme, Hilakari said.
The complaints relayed to trades hall included a childcare company that told workers they would have to increase their hours to earn the $1,500 a fortnight worth of work, and a juice company franchise accused of refusing to backpay staff back to 30 March.
Other examples included a major streetwear retailer who was said to have told their casual employees they were ineligible for the subsidy if they had taken any time off.
Industrial relations will be top of mind when parliament resumes on Tuesday, as Labor and the Greens are seeking crossbench support to reverse changes allowing employers to ask their employees to vary pay deals with just 24 hours’ notice.
Labor appears to have won Centre Alliance and Jacqui Lambie’s support, but Pauline Hanson told The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday “it’s not going to happen”.
“I don’t agree with them,” Hanson reportedly said. “Labor is just grabbing at straws here.”
If One Nation opposes the disallowance, it will fail, allowing the shortened timeframe for consultation to stand.
On Monday the assistant treasurer, Michael Sukkar, announced that the early access to superannuation scheme, allowing $10,000 to workers in distress this financial year and next, had been resumed.
“The ATO has identified a small number of third parties who could be susceptible to criminal activity,” he said. “The ATO is working with these third parties to help them make security enhancements.
“Additional risk filters will also be applied by the ATO on all files before they are delivered to funds, and additional information will be provided to funds to assist them in discharging their own obligations to apply fraud prevention processes.”
So far more than 1.2m workers have applied to access more than $10bn of their retirement savings.
