The JobKeeper wage subsidy is going to be extended until Christmas at a reduced rate of over $1000-a-fortnight.

There will be a tighter eligibility test for companies trying to get the wage subsidy.

News.com.au has confirmed that JobKeeper will reduce the current wage subsidy from $1,500 a fortnight but extend the support to coronavirus affected businesses until the end of the year.

The new measures will be outlined on Thursday, but casuals will no longer be able to secure a flat-rate payment regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time in the new JobKeeper phase.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has confirmed that the new turnover test will apply when the current scheme will end on September 27th to ensure that companies that have bounced back from COVID-19 are removed from the program.

“As we have highlighted there will be another phase of income support. It will stick to the principles that have guided us well. It will be targeted, it will be proportionate, it will be scalable, and it will be using existing systems,‘’ he told news.com.au.

“The JobKeeper payment is an economic lifeline to millions of Australians and hundreds of thousands of businesses.

“Barring the spread of the virus in significant numbers beyond Victoria, we expect to see the other state and territory economies continue their recovery towards a COVIDSafe economy.”

The new monthly testing options for JobKeeper could include companies to submit monthly updates on business turnover to the Australian Taxation Office to prove that cash flow is down.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann confirmed the shift to a new turnover test as sensible.

“When the JobKeeper program was first announced, and businesses had to demonstrate a drop in turnover of 30 per cent or 50 per cent depending on their level of turnover, once they were in they were in for the entire six month period,” he told Sky News on Sunday morning.

“As we get to the end of that six months, towards the end of September, it is going to be important to reassess which businesses still should be receiving this support.

“In the first six months, irrespective of what happened to your turnover after you initially qualified, you were in — but as we go into this next period, there is a need to reassess whether that support, you still need it for specific businesses."