I have been curious as to how Australia’s universities have been excluded from the JobKeeper Program, designed to keep people in work despite COVID 19. As a note on the university’s website explains, the threshold for businesses the size of the university was that their income had declined by 30% compared to the same time last year. For normal businesses, this was done on a month-to-month basis. But, universities were required to assess income changes over a consecutive six-month period. They were also to include government grants as part of the calculation (a factor not applied to other entities). Based on these criteria, the University was not entitled.
I have been curious as to how Australia’s universities have been excluded from the JobKeeper Program, designed to keep people in work despite COVID 19. As a note on the university’s website explains, the threshold for businesses the size of the university was that their income had declined by 30% compared to the same time last year. For normal businesses, this was done on a month-to-month basis. But, universities were required to assess income changes in over a consecutive six-month period. They were also to include government grants as part of the calculation (a factor not applied to other entities). Based on these criteria, the University was not entitled.
The University is careful not to say so, but blind Freddie can see that tertiary education has been singled out by the government not to receive COVID-19 assistance—perhaps because the government thinks that education is already using too much money? That is short sighted at best.
If the government wishes to screw Universities, let it do so directly, not by making special exceptions in programs that apply society generally.