Rebate Scheme (Jobs Action Plan)
The Jobs Action Plan is a key priority of the NSW Government and is designed to give NSW businesses the incentive to employ new workers and expand their enterprises in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Under the plan, businesses that increase the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees receive a payroll tax rebate following the employment of each additional employee in a position that is a new job.
To be eligible for the rebate scheme, you must be registered as an employer and paying payroll tax under the Payroll Tax Act 2007. Forty percent of the new jobs will be prioritised for non-metropolitan areas of NSW with the remaining sixty percent in metropolitan areas.
Important changes from 1 July 2013
This scheme has been extended to 30 June 2015 and the rebate increased from $4,000 to $5,000 for new jobs created after 1 July 2013.
The rebate applies to the employment of an additional employee in a new job and will be paid in two parts:
$2,000 will be paid at the end of the first year of employment; and
$3,000 will be paid at the end of the second year of employment.
For part-time employees the rebate will be pro-rated based on full time equivalent hours of employment.
Eligible locations
Metropolitan area - being the area constituted by the following Local Government Areas:
Ashfield, Auburn, Bankstown, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Botany Bay, Burwood, Camden, Campbelltown, Canada Bay, Canterbury, Fairfield, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, North Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland Shire, Sydney, The Hills Shire, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Wollondilly, Woollahra, Wyong,
Newcastle,
Wollongong.
Non-metropolitan area includes:
That part of the State that does not fall within the metropolitan area.
Eligible employment
Employment is eligible employment if:
a person is employed (full-time or part-time) in a position that is a new job, and
the employment commences on or after 1 July 2011, and
the employment is maintained for a period of at least two years, and
the services of the employee are performed wholly or mainly in NSW, and
the employment is not excluded from the rebate scheme.
New job
A position is a new job if the employment of a person in that position results in a sustained increase in the employer's NSW FTE employees. This increase must be sustained on both the first and second anniversaries of the date the employment commenced and throughout the two years to be eligible for the full rebate. However if employment is only maintained for the first year then the rebate will only be paid for that year. If the NSW FTE falls below the NSW FTE required for the payment of the rebate for more than 30 days at any time during the year, the Chief Commissioner may refuse to pay the rebate.
Calculation of the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees
The number of FTE employees of an employer on the date of appointment of a new employee (excluding the new employee) and on the first and second anniversary of a new employee’s appointment (including the new employee) is the sum of F + A/B where:
F = the number of full time employees on that date
A = the total number of hours worked in the preceding pay period by all part time employees employed on that date;
B = the average number of hours worked in the preceding pay period by all full time employees employed on that date.
The Chief Commissioner may agree to a different or compromise method of calculating the number of FTE employees if it is too difficult or costly to determine the exact figures.
Minimum employment period
To be eligible for the first and second year rebate, the minimum employment period is two years starting on the date the employment concerned is claimed to commence.
Employment is maintained if there is always a person employed in the position for which the rebate is claimed.
A vacancy in a position can be disregarded if the number of days vacant does not exceed a total of 30 days in each year of employment for which the rebate is claimed.
The rebate may be paid if the 30 days are exceeded but only if the Chief Commissioner is satisfied the length of the vacancy is beyond the employer's control. In this case the rebate will be paid on a pro-rata basis.
Excluded employment
1. The employment of a person by an employer is excluded from the rebate scheme if:
the person was employed by the employer claiming the rebate or a group member in the previous 12 months, or
the person's employment is a continuation of employment with another employer, or
any wages paid by the employer to the person are not taxable wages (i.e. the wages must be subject to NSW payroll tax under the nexus provisions), or
any wages paid by the employer to the person are not taxable wages (i.e. the wages must be subject to NSW payroll tax under the nexus provisions), or
the employer is entitled to a rebate under the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (i.e. apprentice/trainee rebate), or
a rebate, subsidy or other assistance is payable to the employer for the employment of the person by the State, or
the employer is taken to be the employer of the person under the contracting provisions or employment agency provisions of the Payroll Tax Act 2007, or
the employer is the Crown in right of New South Wales or in any of its other capacities, or
the employer is a public, local or municipal body or authority.
2. A person's employment with an employer (the new employer) is a continuation of employment with another employer (the previous employer) if:
the person was, within 12 months before the date on which the person commenced employment with the new employer, employed by the previous employer in a business or undertaking, and
that business or undertaking has been the subject of a merger with the business or undertaking of the new employer or has been taken over or otherwise acquired by the new employer.
Registering for the scheme
Employers are required to register the employment of a person in a position that is a new job and advise the number of FTE employees immediately before the position was filled.
Registration may be made:
by an employer who is registered and paying payroll tax
within 30 days after the employment to which the application relates first commences.
You can apply online:
or by completing and sending a registration form:
More information
