The Australian Federal Government has announced a temporary COVID Disaster Payment to assist workers who reside or work in a “Commonwealth declared hotspot”, who are unable to attend work and earn an income as a result of state imposed health restrictions that last for greater than one week.
See below for details.
Available for Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible working visa holders, recipients will receive up to $500 per week for losing 20 hours or more of work, and $325 per week for losing under 20 hours.
The media release states that the payment is available:
- to workers who have liquid assets of no more than $10,000;
- to workers who have exhausted any leave entitlements (other than annual leave) or other special pandemic leave;
- in respect of the second and any subsequent weeks of restrictions; and
- to workers who are not already receiving income support payments, business support payments, or the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment.
Access to the payment will be available through Services Australia from 8 June 2021.
The Politics
The politics of this is interesting – in view of the constitutional ‘mis-match’ giving the States the power to plunge their State into ‘lockdown’ but not the fiscal resources to really compensate their residents for the hardship they’ve caused them – especially on the basis of sometimes ‘dodgy’ medical advice. The 4th Victorian lockdown has thrown this into sharper relief.
The Federal Government has stumped up funds for this ‘post-JobKeeer’ and post COVID-supplement to the JobSeeker benefits, but only if the claimant is in a place, which it assesses as a ‘hotspot’ – based on its own medical advice. So, the ‘Feds’ wielded their fiscal muscle, to restore some better discipline into those jurisdictions exercising their constitutional power in a way that the Federal Government assesses as unjustified.
[Treasurers wesbite: Media Release; LTN 106, 4/6/21]