The Jobs Victoria Fund is providing $250 million in wage subsidies to help Victorian businesses get people back to work. The fund has been designed to financially support businesses to employ people who have been impacted by the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read on to find out more about the scheme.
What is the Jobs Australia fund?
Jobs Victoria is offering wage subsidies of up to $20,000 for employers to hire eligible jobseekers. These subsidies can be used to offset the costs of taking on new employees for the first 12 months of employment.
You can apply for a wage subsidy for up to 20 full time equivalent employees. To qualify for the subsidy you must employ someone from at least one of the priority groups outlined below, who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.
Download the Jobs Victoria Fund Guidelines.
Who are the priority jobseekers being supported by the fund?
The Jobs Victoria Fund financially supports these priority jobseekers into work:
- women aged over 45 years
- jobseekers who are long-term unemployed (unemployed for six months or more)
- jobseekers registered with a Jobs Victoria partner
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
- people with disability
- people seeking asylum/refugees
- newly arrived migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds
- young people aged under 25
- people over 45 years
- veterans
- people previously employed under the Working for Victoria initiative.
If you are an employer interested in applying to the Jobs Victoria Fund, you must hire employees from these priority groups before you apply to the Fund.
If you meet all the eligibility criteria and supply the necessary information, you will receive funding, subject to availability of funds and conditions.
Is my business eligible to apply for the fund?
To find out whether your business is eligible, you can complete the short questionnaire on the Jobs Victoria Fund Guidelines page.
Five steps to submit your application
Step 1: Check if you are eligible
- Complete the Questionnaire – Is my business eligible?
- Complete the Eligibility Checklist
- Read the Jobs Victoria Fund Guidelines
Step 2: Recruit your employee/s
- Hire employees from one of the priority groups of jobseekers as fixed-term or permanent employee(s) (part-time or full-time, not casual) for at least 19 hours per week for 12 months.
- New employees must have commenced their new role on or after 16 March 2021, unless they are transitioning to a casual job in your organisation or were previously employed under the Working for Victoria initiative.
- Recruitment support is available.
Step 3: Apply to the Jobs Victoria Fund
- Applications to the Jobs Victoria Fund open on 26 March 2021.
- Submit an online application within 12 weeks of the first employee commencing.
- You can apply to the Fund for a wage subsidy for a maximum of 20 full time equivalent employees depending on the size of your business.
- Submit an online application with the required documentation through the ‘Apply Now’ button.
- Please note that you must attach:
- a completed Employee Consent Form for each employee, and
- a Statutory Declaration for verification purposes.
Step 4: Application outcome
- Jobs Victoria will assess your application and notify you of the outcome.
- If successful, we will send you a Letter of Offer and Grant Agreement for your approval and signature
Step 5: Reporting and payment
- Once the Letter of Offer and the Grant Agreement are executed, you will receive payments in accordance with the payment schedule.
- You must continue to employ each of the employees for whom you applied and meet all the conditions set out in the Grant Agreement.
- The value of the payment will depend on:
- the number of employees
- whether employees are employed full-time or part-time
- the priority group that each employee identifies with.
- All successful applicants may be subject to a range of compliance and probity processes, including an independent audit.
Where can I apply?
The Jobs Victoria Fund is currently taking applications. You can submit your application online at the Jobs Victoria Fund page.
Note: You must hire employees from one of the priority groups of jobseekers before making an application. If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you can receive funding.
Useful resources to help prepare your application
Here is a list of helpful resources that you can use to prepare your application.
EDIT 11/05/2022: Please note that some of the following links are no longer valid and have been removed.
Questionnaire – Is my business eligible?
Eligibility Checklist
- Eligibility Checklist PDF (link removed)
Jobs Victoria Fund Guidelines
Recruitment support
Factsheet - How to be an inclusive employer
Additional information
The following templates must be completed and attached to your application:
Employee Consent Form
Statutory Declaration Templates
- Template 1 – For private sector, Aboriginal businesses, social enterprises and/or sole traders seeking subsidies for three or less employees.
- Template 2 (link removed) – For private sector, Aboriginal businesses, social enterprises and/or sole traders seeking subsidies for more than three employees.
- Template 3 – For all organisations (except private sector, Aboriginal businesses, social enterprises and/or sole traders) seeking subsidies for three or less employees.
- Template 4 (link removed) – For all organisations (except private sector, Aboriginal businesses, social enterprises and/or sole traders) seeking subsidies for more than three employees.
For more information, visit the Jobs Victoria Fund website or contact the team at Lead Advisory Group for assistance.
