The 15 companies that took the most in JobKeeper
The complete list of Australian companies that took advantage of the Government JobKeeper scheme has been released, including how much money they received and whether or not they have made any repayments.
The list was released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Tuesday, and features some expected companies, and some other less expected.
Qantas topped the list, unsurprisingly, with border closures weighing heavily on the airline which had its operations heavily reduced.
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Other travel-centric companies like Flight Centre and Helloworld also make an appearance, while businesses that rely heavily on travel like Star Entertainment and Crown Resorts also get a mention.
Here are the top 15 companies that received JobKeeper and how much they received in the year from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
Qantas - $695,538,500
Crown Resorts - $198,341,400
Flight Centre Travel Group - $152,045,750
Mosaic Brands - $96,526,800
The Star Entertainment Group - $94,975,350
Myer Holdings - $77,037,000
Event Hospitality & Entertainment - $61,531,500
Premier Investments - $46,545,907
Seven West Media - $33,385,500
Southern Cross Media - $31,570,200
Australian Clinical Labs - $31,281,000
Millennium Services Group - $24,658,500
Regional Express Holdings - $24,150,300
Helloworld Travel - $23,224,050
Cochlear - $23,100,000
Out of the top 15, only four had repaid all or some of the money they took in. Cochlear and Australian Clinical Labs both returned the full amount while Mosaid Brands returned over $2 million and Premier Investments returned $15.6 million.
The data only covers companies that are listed entities so it is unknown how much money privately-owned companies claimed in JobKeeper payments.
JobKeeper controversy
Back in August this year, 21 ASX-listed companies vowed to return JobKeeper after public pressure started to mount when it came to light some companies which had accepted the Government scheme actually had bumper years.
Combined, those 21 companies promised to return around $297 million in JobKeeper funds.
Then, in September, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) confirmed it would not be pursuing $180 million in wrongfully awarded JobKeeper payments.
ATO Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan told the Economics Committee that small businesses which received overpayments due to an honest mistake will not be chased.
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