Harvey Norman has bowed to public pressure and repaid $6 million in JobKeeper subsidies after making record profits for the 2020-21 financial year.
The ASX-listed company quietly revealed the decision in an update to investors on Tuesday morning, declaring $6.02 million in payments had been returned.
It follows ongoing calls for companies that accrued billions of dollars in JobKeeper payments despite their businesses not suffering a downturn in revenue to return the money.
According to its latest update, Harvey Norman notched a year of record sales, reporting a 15.3 per cent increase in total revenue to $9.72 billion and a 75.1 per cent increase in profit after tax of $841.41 million.
In a statement, the company’s chairman Gerry Harvey said: “The solid results delivered in the 2021 financial year is a testament to the strength and resilience of the integrated retail, franchise, property and digital strategy and its ability to adapt and transition to the challenging retail landscape and continue to navigate the uncertainties presented by COVID-19.”
The retail giant is estimated to have received around $22 million worth of JobKeeper wage subsidies.
The federal government’s $1,500 a fortnight program was announced last March for businesses hit by COVID-19 lockdowns.
Businesses and charities had to demonstrate either an actual or projected drop in income to qualify.
An analysis from the independent Parliamentary Budget Office last month found $12.5 billion was paid to businesses that didn’t see a shortfall in revenue from April to June last year.
Some $4.6 billion also flowed to businesses whose turnover increased during this period, according to the analysis.
Independent Senator Rex Patrick, Labor and the Greens have attempted to try to force the disclosure of JobKeeper details for businesses with a turnover of more than $10 million.
Senator Patrick said on Tuesday morning Harvey Norman would not have paid back the money without “sustained efforts to call out big businesses that abuse the JobKeeper program” at the expense of taxpayers.
“There’s still much more work to be done,” he tweeted.
Labor MP Andrew Leigh has also campaigned for companies that profited from the scheme to pay back the money.
“Harvey Norman has given us the best advertisement for more transparency into the secretive, rorted JobKeeper scheme,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
Concerns have been raised over people on welfare and visa holders being chased for debts connected to payments made through the JobKeeper scheme.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has previously told SBS News JobKeeper was highly successful in saving businesses and keeping Australians in work during the COVID-19 recession.
He said he would welcome any business paying back JobKeeper if they were "in the position to do so".
