JobKeeper Payments Expanded to include Religious Practitioners

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

JobKeeper Payments Expanded to include Religious Practitioners

Generally, religious practitioners may not be classified as "employees" for tax purposes, and may receive financial support via non monetary benefits and/or a stipend, rather than salary and wages.

 

The eligibility rules for the JobKeeper Payment scheme have now been expanded to include religious institutions in respect of religious practitioners (with the exception of those that are students only) who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.


What is a "Registered Religious Institution"?

A "registered religious institution" means an institution that is a registered charity and registered as a charity that is advancing religion under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012.


Who is a "Religious Practitioner"?

A "religious practitioner" for the purposes of the JobKeeper Payment scheme is a minister of religion or a full-time member of a religious order.

 

The expanded eligibility requirements provide that individuals are eligible religious practitioners in a fortnight if they meet all of the following in that fortnight :

  • They are not employed by the religious institution;
  • They are a religious practitioner and they do activities or a series of activities in pursuit of their vocation as a religious practitioner, and as a member of the registered religious institution;
  • They meet the 1 March 2020 requirements; and
  • They meet the nomination requirements (explained below).

 

The eligibility requirements for religious practitioners are largely consistent with those for other employees (ie. the 1 March 2020 requirements), and we have explained these requirements in a previous Tax Alert – click here .


Payment Condition for Religious Institutions

A payment condition applies to an eligible religious institution concerning payments or benefits provided to a religious practitioner to qualify for the JobKeeper Payment scheme in respect of the religious practitioner.

 

The expanded rules provide that an eligible religious institution meets the payment condition in respect of an individual for a fortnight if it:

  • Makes one or more payments to the individual from which an amount must be withheld (ie. PAYG withholding); or
  • Provides a benefit to the individual whether that is a fringe benefit or an exempt benefit under the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986.

We understand that where a religious practitioner is normally paid a salary (and/or has expenses paid on their behalf by the religious institution, ie. fringe benefits) and they have assessed they are entitled to receive the JobKeeper Payment, they will meet the payment condition where they continue to receive a salary (and/or fringe benefits) to the value of $1,500 (gross) per fortnight.

 

We also note that where an institution usually pays religious practitioners for a regular period of more than a fortnight (such as monthly), then those payments are to be allocated to a fortnight or fortnights in a reasonable manner.


Special Nomination Notice

If you have enrolled or intend to enrol for the JobKeeper Payment, you need to complete the JobKeeper religious practitioner nomination notice ( click here ) to:

  • Notify your eligible religious practitioners that you intend to participate in the scheme; and
  • Confirm they agree to be nominated and receive payments from you as part of the scheme.

 

Both the registered religious institution and the nominated religious practitioner need to complete the form.   The completed form does not need to be sent to the ATO, however it should be kept as part of your tax records.


Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further.

August 6, 2025
Paid parental leave changes have now commenced As from 1 July 2025, the amount of Paid Parental Leave available to families increased to 24 weeks, and the amount of Paid Parental Leave that parents can take off at the same time has also increased from two weeks to four weeks. Superannuation will now also be paid on Government Paid Parental Leave from 1 July 2025, at the new super guarantee rate of 12%, paid as a contribution to their nominated superannuation fund. Parents will also benefit from an increase in the weekly payment rate of Paid Parental Leave, increasing from $915.80 to $948.10 (in line with the increase to the National Minimum wage). This means a total increase of $775.20 over the 24-week entitlement.
July 28, 2025
Contracts often include price variations relating to bonuses / penalties / rebates – why do we need to consider these early? Many revenue streams are covered by AASB 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The core principle of this standard is ‘that an entity shall recognise revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.’ [emphasis added]. To determine what we expect to receive, all elements of the contract that are not fixed need to be reviewed. We need to review contracts for: Volume discounts Rebates Refunds Performance bonuses Penalties Price concessions Once we have identified variable consideration then we need to estimate the amount expected to be received using either: the expected amount using a probability weighted average of the likely outcomes or the most likely outcome. The method chosen is the one deemed to be the best estimate of the expected consideration, and the amounts may be updated at each reporting date. Once the consideration has been determined, the entity recognises only the revenue that is highly probable will occur – this is known as the constraint on revenue recognition. Practically, the requirements discussed above for variable consideration are relevant only where an entity satisfies the requirements for revenue recognition over time and contract crosses a reporting date.  As the estimate of the variable consideration changes, there may need to be a catch-up adjustment on previous revenue recognition for that contract.
July 21, 2025
New Tax Agent Obligations from 1 July 2025 From 1 July 2025, “small” firms of tax practitioners (with 100 or less employees) must ensure they are complying with the eight new Code of Professional Conduct obligations from the Tax Practitioners Board ( TPB ). These new Code obligations were introduced by the Government under the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024. The new Code obligations have already commenced for large tax practitioners (with over 100 employees) from 1 January 2025. As tax agents, Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants are committed to upholding our professional and regulatory obligations, including with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 which includes the Code of Professional Conduct as regulated by the TPB.
More Posts