JobMaker Reboot Required: Low take up rates suggest a rethink is needed, says BDO Australia

The hiring credit provides eligible employers with $200 a week for each additional staff member they hire between the ages of 16 and 29 years old, if that person has been receiving the JobSeeker, Youth Allowance (Other) or Parenting Payment.

Mark Molesworth, Tax Partner at BDO in Australia said it was clear that a rethink on JobMaker was needed, particularly now the JobKeeper subsidy has stopped.

“The government should consider making changes to the existing JobMaker scheme to focus it instead on business investment and, as an alternative to a wage subsidy, introduce an employee headcount rebate.

“This could be paid as a tax benefit, in cash, per new full time equivalent employee created by a business - based on the size of their payroll - which can be easily measured via the Single Touch Payroll process.”