People Matters, October 2020
On Tuesday 6 October, the Australian government handed down the Federal budget which included strong support for the meat industry, especially in the area of employment.
The Morrison Government’s budget measures mean a greater flow of workers to Australia’s rural and regional towns as well as encouraging meat businesses to take on apprentices.
The $17.4m ‘Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job’ program will provide job seekers with financial assistance of up to $6,000 per person. This could include:
- Up to $3,000 if you move to a capital city
- Up to $6,000 if you move to a regional area
- Up to an extra $3,000 if you move with a dependent
It may also pay for a range of expenses for eligible individuals including:
- up to two months’ rent at your new location
- rental bond
- travel and removalists costs
- costs of settling in at your new location
For more information on the Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job initiative, visit the government website here.
The Australian Government will also fund 100,000 new apprenticeships through the $1.2 billion ‘Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements’ wage subsidy. The new subsidy will support employers and Group Training Organisations of any size which take on new or recommencing apprentices between 5 October 2020 and 30 September 2021. It will apply to wages paid in that period and capped at $7,000 per quarter. To find out if your business is eligible, and other details about the initiative, click here.
The existing ‘COVID-19 Apprentice and Trainee’ wage subsidy is still in place for small businesses who have already employed an apprentice or trainee on or after 1 July 2020. This is a wage subsidy of 50% that has recently been extended to 31 March 2021. For more information click here.
The budget also included the JobMaker program, under which businesses will receive a credit of $200 a week for hiring workers between 16 and 29 and $100 a week hiring those aged between 30 and 35 with eligible employees required to work a minimum of 20 hours a week.
“These measures, which focus on growing jobs, has a huge benefit for local meat manufacturing, which flows through to our meat processing, smallgoods manufacturers and retailers, including independent local butchers,” says Patrick Hutchinson, AMIC CEO.