The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has announced a new weekly payment of $500 that workers may be eligible to apply for. The payment will be available to those eligible recipients that are Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible working visa holders.
In the Prime Minister’s Press Release, it states that the payments will be made to workers that reside in a Commonwealth declared hotspot and who are unable to work and earn income due to lockdown restrictions for a period of greater than one week.
Eligible recipients will receive $500 per week if they lose at least 20 hours of work per week or $325 per week if they lose less than 20 hours per week. Individuals already receiving income support payments (like JobSeeker) or business support payments will not be eligible to apply.
The Press Release states that in order to be eligible to receive the payment, the individual must have “liquid assets” (i.e. funds readily available to access) of less than $10,000.
Applications for the payments will be open from Tuesday 8 June 2021 via myGov and a linked Centrelink account. Payments can potentially continue to be made each week to eligible individuals until the Commonwealth revokes the declared hotspot status.