Tiani and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The applicant, Ms Tiani, sought to challenge a decision by the Commissioner of Taxation regarding her eligibility for JobKeeper payments. The dispute centred on whether Ms Tiani qualified as an eligible business participant entitled to receive JobKeeper payments in her own right for her business.

The primary legal issue before Deputy President McCabe was whether Ms Tiani met the criteria to be considered an eligible business participant under the relevant legislation. Specifically, the court had to determine if an individual could qualify as an eligible business participant, and if so, whether Ms Tiani satisfied those requirements, particularly in light of a prior nomination notice she had provided to another entity.

The Deputy President found that Ms Tiani was ineligible for JobKeeper payments because she had previously provided a JobKeeper nomination notice to another entity. Even if Ms Tiani's interpretation of a specific legislative provision were accepted, she would still have faced difficulties satisfying the requirements for the initial JobKeeper fortnight. The evidence indicated that Ms Tiani had not been terminated from her previous employment when she completed a fresh nomination form. Her termination notice specified an effective date of termination that was after the date she submitted the new nomination form, meaning a prior nomination remained current. Consequently, the objection decision under review was affirmed.