NSW government announced higher hiring incentive

The NSW government has boosted a payroll tax rebate for businesses that employ workers laid off in mass redundancies.

The initiative was announced on Tuesday by Premier Barry O’Farrell  and Treasurer Mike Baird; explaining that the rebate will rise from $5,000 to $6,000 which would give businesses an extra incentive to hire laid-off workers.

The initiative comes as the latest job figures showed NSW’s relative strength in testing economic times but recent large-scale industry readjustments has left a number of workers without jobs.

Mr. O’Farrell stated that “any job loss is concerning, but it is particularly worrying when retrenchments cause significant disruption to a region, or when those jobs are in a specialised field where there are limited opportunities for re-employment”. 

Mr. Baird said the $6000 Fresh Start Support payroll tax rebate including an existing $5000 rebate already available under the government’s Jobs Action Plan .

The rebate is for employers who hire workers laid off by city firms that make 100 or more employees redundant, or regional firms the make 50 or more employees redundant and cause significant disruption to an industry or region.