Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. On Sunday the Treasurer said that all registered charities would be eligible for the JobKeeper wage subsidy if they had a decline in turnover of 15 per cent or more, but less than 24 hours later the government reversed that position and said that schools and universities would be excluded. Why?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Universities and non-government schools, to help the honourable member, are being treated like other not-for-profits. They are eligible for the JobKeeper payment. However, those with an annual turnover—this would obviously be relevant to universities, not to non-government schools—of more than $1 billion will need to meet the threshold of 50 per cent and those with an annual turnover of less than $1 billion will need to meet the turnover threshold of 30 per cent. Charities other than universities and the non-government schools that are registered with the national regulator will be eligible for the JobKeeper payment if they have suffered a decline in turnover of 15 per cent. This reflects that at this particular time there is going to be a significant increase in the demand for such services.