Australian charities have welcomed the relaxed eligibility requirements for charity workers to be eligible for the JobKeeper coronavirus wage scheme.
Australian charities have welcomed the revised threshold at which they can apply for the federal government's new JobKeeper Payment, with one warning it is already at “breaking point” as it tries to help refugees cope with coronavirus fallout.
The $130 billion program, under which workers get a fortnightly pay of $1,500 per person through their employers, is set to be approved in parliament on Wednesday. Mr Karapanagiotidis said he expects a significant hit to the charity's returns as the economic uncertainty strains donations and clouds the future of fundraisers.“We’re in this impossible position of how many do we house and feed and medically care for?”The federal government estimates more than 1.3 million Australians work in the charity sector across 57,000 organisations.
“We unusually have so much of our safety net structured through charities,” he said. “This is why keeping charities afloat - is literally keeping afloat people who are vulnerable or are otherwise at risk.” Catholic Social Services Australia chief executive Ursula Stephens told SBS News support services from emergency food relief to housing, counselling and domestic violence have all seen increases in demand.
Concerns have been raised, however, over the inclusion of government grants when calculating how much revenue a charity has lost.
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