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Jobs action plan

The Jobs Action Plan is an incentive for businesses to employ new workers and grow their business in NSW.

New job

A new job is when the number of your NSW full-time equivalent (FTE) employees increases and that FTE is maintained over a two-year period. If the employment only lasts for the first year then the rebate will only be paid for that year.

Scheme end date

The scheme closed to new registrations on 1 July 2019. However, registrations for positions that started on or before 30 June 2019 will be accepted if the position is registered within 90 days of the start date.

Minimum employment period

The minimum employment period for the new job is two years from the start date.

  • Under the rebate, there must always be a person employed in the job.
  • If a position is left vacant for less than 30 days, it’s not considered a vacancy. If the 30 days are exceeded the rebate may be paid on a pro-rata basis, if we accept that the vacancy was beyond your control.

A position is eligible for the rebate if

  • it is newly created
  • a person is employed, full-time, part-time, on a permanent or casual basis
  • it starts on or after 1 July 2011 and before 1 July 2019
  • it’s maintained for the minimum employment period
  • your number of FTE employees prior to creating the new job increases and is maintained for two years
  • the employee performs more than 50 per cent of their services in NSW.

New jobs starting on or after 31 July 2016, will only be eligible for the rebate if your FTE employee number, prior to the new job starting, is at or below 50.

Internally transferred employees

If an approved position is internally transferred, you’ll remain eligible if

  • an employee is transferred between employers within the same group
  • an employee is transferred to a new employer as a result of a merger, takeover or acquisition
  • the former employer had registered the position(s) in the Jobs Action Plan online portal
  • the position is registered within 90 days of the transfer date.

A position is not eligible for the rebate if

  • the person employed by your business is not considered a common law employee
  • the person you or one of your group members employ was already employed in that role or a different role within your business in the last 12 months
  • the person receives wages from you that are not taxable (the wages must be subject to NSW payroll tax under the Nexus provisions)
  • you are entitled to the apprentice and trainee rebate under the Payroll Tax Act 2007
  • your business is already receiving a rebate, subsidy or other assistance from the State for the employment of the person
  • you are taken to be the employer of the person under the contracting provisions or the employment agency provisions of the Payroll Tax Act 2007
  • you are the Crown or a body representing the Crown in NSW
  • you are a public, local or municipal body or authority.

New jobs starting on or after 31 July 2016, will only be eligible for the rebate if your FTE employee number, prior to the new job starting, is at or below 50.

Common law employee

Only workers you engage as employees are eligible for the rebate.

An employee works in your business and is part of your business, whereas a contractor runs their own business and provides services to your business. Contractors and employment agency workers are not considered to be employees.

Calculating your FTE employees

You will need to calculate your FTE employees. Use the following formula:

F + (A / B) = FTE

Where

F = the number of NSW full-time employees on that date

A = the total number of hours worked in the preceding pay period by all NSW part time employees employed on that date

B = average number of hours worked in the preceding pay period by all NSW full time employees employed on that date

When calculating the number of FTE employees:

  • on the date a person starts in a new job, exclude that person from the calculations.
  • on the first and second anniversaries of the start date of the new job, include that person in the calculations.

If you have different pay periods for various employees, you will need to choose and apply it consistently to all employees.

The Chief Commissioner of State Revenue may agree to a different or compromise method of calculating the number of FTE employees if it too difficult or costly to determine the exact figures.

Claiming a rebate

To claim the rebate, you’ll need to lodge an online application for the payment, within 90 days after the first and/or second anniversary date of employment.

Payment of the rebate

Certain conditions apply for each new job. These are:

  • for part-time employees, the rebate will be pro-rata based on the NSW FTE hours of employment
  • the maximum amount of rebate payable will be determined by the amount of the employer’s net payroll tax liability for that financial year
  • if the increase in the FTE is not maintained for the second year, you will not receive payment of the rebate for that period. You do not need to repay the rebate for the first year of employment.

Amount of rebate payable

New job start date

First anniversary

Second anniversary

31 July 2016 - onwards

$2,000

$4,000

1 July 2013 - 30 July 2016

$2,000

$3,000

1 July 2011 - 30 June 2013

$2,000

$2,000

In the case of part- time employees, the rebate payable on each anniversary is calculated as follows:

Annual rebate amount × (C / D)

where:

C = the number of hours worked by the employee during the previous 12 months

D = the average number of hours worked by full-time NSW employees during the previous 12 months.

The maximum rebate paid for each year cannot exceed your total payroll tax liability for that year.