Parliament passes JobKeeper 2.0

This afternoon, Parliament passed the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Jobkeeper Payments) Amendment Bill 2020 which gives effect to the...

This afternoon, Parliament passed the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Jobkeeper Payments) Amendment Bill 2020 which gives effect to the previously announced extension of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme until 28 March 2021. To continue participating in the scheme after 27 September 2020, employers will need to meet revised eligibility requirements, and reassess...

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Important ‘stand down’ information for Victorian employers

From midnight on Wednesday, 5 August 2020, Victoria will enter Stage 4 restrictions and all non-essential retailers located in...

From midnight on Wednesday, 5 August 2020, Victoria will enter Stage 4 restrictions and all non-essential retailers located in the Melbourne metropolitan area will be restricted to contactless ‘click and collect’ and delivery services. The restrictions will last for at least the next 6 weeks, and as such it...

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Retail sales rise in June, road to recovery remains fraught with hazards

Retail turnover rose by a solid 2.4 per cent in June according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)...

Retail turnover rose by a solid 2.4 per cent in June according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) preliminary report released today. However, National Retail Association (NRA) CEO Dominique Lamb said the road to retail recovery following the COVID-19 wrecking ball remains long and fraught with hazards. “Retail turnover in...

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Message from the CEO: 21 July 2020

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the today's announcement by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, extending the JobKeeper...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the today's announcement by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, extending the JobKeeper subsidy from September 2020 to March 2021. By our calculations, $3.4 billion in retail sales were lost in the month of April during the height of the lockdown restrictions. If we...

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JobKeeper extended to March 2021, but important changes are on the way

By Alex Millman, NRA Legal Today, the Prime Minister announced that the JobKeeper package would be extended from 27 September...

By Alex Millman, NRA Legal Today, the Prime Minister announced that the JobKeeper package would be extended from 27 September 2020 until 28 March 2021. This news comes as welcome relief as businesses still struggle with uncertainty, particularly with the situation in Victoria demonstrating how quickly circumstances can change. There will, however,...

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Retailers welcome JobKeeper certainty, but business conditions remain grim

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s extension of the JobKeeper subsidy until March 2021, but...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s extension of the JobKeeper subsidy until March 2021, but warned that the economic climate remains hostile for many businesses. The Prime Minister announced today that once the current JobKeeper rate expires in September, the scheme will continue at a lowered...

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FWC finds the limits to JobKeeper stand downs

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission has, for the first time in the short...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission has, for the first time in the short life of the JobKeeper jurisdiction, tested exactly how far a JobKeeper stand down direction can go in reducing an employee’s hours. In a decision handed down earlier this week, Deputy President...

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May retail sales bolstered by lockdown easing, long road to recovery remains

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade report for May has revealed that turnover was bolstered with the...

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade report for May has revealed that turnover was bolstered with the easing of lockdown measures across the country. The May report recorded a significant 16.9 per cent increase following the disastrous 17.7 per cent nosedive for April 2020. National Retail Association (NRA) CEO...

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Message from the CEO: 23 June 2020

Last Friday the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its Annual Wage Review. Due to the unprecedented economic pressure...

Last Friday the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its Annual Wage Review. Due to the unprecedented economic pressure imposed on the business community, along with the fact that retail was struggling pre-COVID, the NRA argued strongly that the current rate should be maintained. It was disappointing to see that...

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Message from the CEO: 12 May 2020

With COVID-19 restrictions being gradually lifted across most states, retailers who had been forced to shut their doors are...

With COVID-19 restrictions being gradually lifted across most states, retailers who had been forced to shut their doors are beginning to reopen. The struggle is far from over, but hopefully this does indicate that the worst is behind us. Just yesterday, the National Retail Association hosted a Town Hall webinar...

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Message from the CEO: 5 May 2020

The last few weeks have been bigger than any other challenge to confront Australia in living memory. While Australia...

The last few weeks have been bigger than any other challenge to confront Australia in living memory. While Australia has done an incredible job, relative to other countries, in containing the spread of COVID-19, the economic hit has been substantial. Indeed, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has forecast a $4 billion...

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Casuals and Jobkeeper: casual absenteeism and disciplinary processes

By Andrew Piper and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal   Although reasonably new (and still changing), the JobKeeper program has, so far,...

By Andrew Piper and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal   Although reasonably new (and still changing), the JobKeeper program has, so far, had a mixed effect on businesses. Whilst some employers have embraced it wholeheartedly others, especially those with a workforce comprised largely of casual employees usually earning less than $1,500 a fortnight,...

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