Dozens of Australia’s biggest churches and other religious institutions pocketed millions of dollars in JobKeeper payments while remaining in the black during 2020.
An ABC investigation into the financial records of more than 100 religious organisations has found many qualified for the emergency wage subsidy despite seeing little financial impact from last year’s COVID-19 economic shock.
Figures from the Australian Tax Office show about 3,500 religious entities received a total of $627 million in JobKeeper payments during the life of the scheme, which ended in March.
