17 Jan Grants Available to Support Businesses Hire Priority Jobseekers
Through their Jobs Victoria Fund, the Victorian Government is now offering incentives to encourage local businesses to hire people most impacted by the pandemic.
Here, we’ve put together a brief summary to help determine if your business is eligible for the grant and how to apply.
How Much is the Grant?
A total of $250 million in wage subsidies is available, which has the potential to help nearly 10,000 people who are currently out of work.
There are four levels of wage subsidies available, with the highest offering up to $20,000 per eligible employee. The grants are designed to help meet the costs related to employing a person for a period of 12 months.
Businesses may be able to apply for the grant more than once, depending on their size.
Who Can I Employ?
The scheme has been designed to support people most economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A number of priority groups have been identified, with the government announcing that at least 60% of approved subsidies will be for women.
The full list of priority jobseekers includes:
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
• Jobseekers registered with a Jobs Victoria Mentor service
• People unemployed for six months or more
• Newly arrived migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds
• Women aged 45 years and over
• People seeking asylum/refugees
• People with disability
• Single parents
• Veterans
• Men and people who do not identify as a woman aged 45 years and over
• Young people aged under 25
• People previously or currently employed under the Working for Victoria initiative.
Is my Business Eligible to Apply?
Jobs Victoria has put together an eligibility questionnaire to help businesses determine if they can apply for the grants.
In summary, businesses must:
• Operate in Victoria
• Hire an employee for at least 12 months on a permanent or fixed-term basis
• Hire an employee working for at least 19 hours per week (or eight hours if an exemption applies)
• Hire an employee from one of the jobseeker priority groups
• Be the direct employer of the employee
• Pay the employee the national minimum wage or an award rate of less than $120,000 per annum
Once the employee is hired, businesses can submit an application through the Jobs Victoria Fund website.
The application must be made within 16 weeks of employment commencement, or at any time for people employed through the Working for Victoria scheme.
Summary
Here at Real Estate Career Developers, our specialist real estate recruitment team always have their fingers on the pulse and are ready to support clients with recruitment advice and industry trends.
If you’d like to find out more about how this scheme could help your real estate business or chat through your hiring needs, get in touch today.