On 2 September 2021, the Federal Parliament passed legislation to require listed entities to provide a notice to their market operator containing details about payments they (or any of their subsidiaries) received under the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program. The ASX have now confirmed the form of that disclosure and ASIC has provided guidance as well as a template notice to help listed entities comply with the new requirements.
Who is required to report JobKeeper Payments?
A listed entity must lodge a notice to its market operator if it, or one of its subsidiaries, received a JobKeeper payment in a financial year. A notice is required to be given for each financial year in which a JobKeeper payment was received. Failure to lodge a notice is an offence of strict liability, attracting a penalty of 60 penalty units (i.e. $13,320).
Entities that have received COVID assistance payments overseas are not captured as part of ASIC’s guidance or the legislation. Companies should consider the rules of the jurisdiction in which those payments were received.
When do notices have to be lodged?
Listed entities that have received a JobKeeper payment and lodged their annual reports for the financial year before 14 September 2021 will have 60 days from the 14 September 2021 to give their notice to their market operator (i.e. on or before Friday, 12 November 2021). For all other listed entities that received a JobKeeper payment, the notice must be given to their market operator within 60 days from when its annual report is lodged.
What needs to be lodged?
Under section 323DB(2) of the Corporations Act, a JobKeeper notice must include:
- the listed entity’s name and its ABN;
- the number of individuals for whom the listed entity or its subsidiaries received a JobKeeper payment for a JobKeeper fortnight that ended in the financial year;
- the sum of all JobKeeper payments the listed entity and its subsidiaries received in a JobKeeper fortnight that ended in the financial year;
- whether or not a listed entity or a subsidiary has made one or more voluntary repayments (whether or not in the financial year) to the Commonwealth by way of a repayment of JobKeeper payments received by the listed entity or its subsidiaries in the financial year; and
- if the listed entity or its subsidiaries have made such a voluntary payment or payments – the sum of those payments.
Listed entities are not required to use the JobKeeper Payments Notification form JobKeeper Payments Notification form; however, the form does assist listed entities meeting their JobKeeper reporting requirements.
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