The Star must maintain a minimum headcount for three categories of workers,which will need to be reported quarterly. If the headcount is less than the required number,the company will be required to pay the government $25,000 for each shortfall in a quarter.
The Star will also be obligated to maintain ratios of full-time,part-time and casual staff,and if they fail to do so,the casino giant will be hit with a $1 million penalty each quarter.
After months of deliberation over a controversial tax increase that the Minns government inherited from the Coalition,NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey in August announced a revised,“transitional” arrangement for the planned duty rate increase on poker machine profits.
As well as maintaining jobs,the casino will take part in the state’s cashless gaming trial,and 50 poker machines and eight tables in high-volume areas went cashless from October last year.
The transitional tax arrangement on gambling machines will apply until a new rate begins in July 2030. The transitional casino duty rates are expected to generate $2.7 billion over 10 years from The Star,more than $500,000 million more than they would under the previous rate.
Casino tax increases were first announced by the former Liberal Treasurer Matt Kean in December 2022 without consultation with Sydney’s two casinos. Under the proposal,The Star’s poker machines were to be taxed at a top rate of 60.7 per cent to generate $364 million in extra revenue over three years – more than doubling what the casino was paying at the time.