FEDERAL BUDGET SUMMARY
ECONOMY
* Budget surplus of $9.3 billion in 2023/24
* Deficits of $28.3 billion in 2024/25, $42.8 billion in 2025/26, $26.7 billion in 2026/27 and $24.3 billion in 2027/28
* Commonwealth net debt rising to $552.5 billion (20 per cent of gross domestic product) in 2024/25, before hitting $697.5 billion (21.9 per cent) in 2027/28
* Economic growth to rise to two per cent in 2024/25 before expanding to 2.5 per cent in 2026/27
* Unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent in 2024/25, holding at that level through 2026/27 then easing to 4.25 per cent in 2027/28
* Inflation rate, as measured by consumer price index, of 2.75 per cent in 2024/25
* Wages to rise by 3.25 per cent in 2024/25
COST OF LIVING
* Tax cuts for all Australians, averaging $36 a week
* Energy bill relief of $300 for every household and $325 for around one million small businesses
* $1.9 billion for further rent relief assistance for nearly one million households, the first back-to-back increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance in more than three decades
* Cheaper medicines for all, with $7.70 cap for five years for pensioners and concession card holders
* $1.1 billion to pay superannuation on Government-funded Paid Parental Leave
* $138 million to boost funding for emergency and food relief and financial support services
WOMEN
* $925 million for assistance and support for women fleeing violence at home and for housing
* $56.1 million to support women’s sexual and reproductive health initiatives over four years
* The government will conduct a regular survey to hear directly from women about their concerns and priorities for gender equality
* $55.6 million to support women’s careers in clean energy
MANUFACTURING
* A ‘front door’ for priority projects with streamlined and strengthened approvals
* $6.7 billion production tax incentive for the production of renewable hydrogen
* $1.7 billion to promote net zero innovation, including for green metals and low-carbon fuels
* $1.5 billion to strengthen battery and solar panel supply chains through production incentives
* $7 billion production tax incentive for the processing and refining of critical minerals
* $566.1 million to map Australia’s geological potential to support net zero transition
* $14 million to build better markets through trade, promoting competitive and fair global markets
HEALTH
* $2.8 billion to strengthen Medicare and the health system
* $3.4 billion for new and updated medicine listings on the Pharmacuetical Benefits Scheme
*$825.7 million to continue to test for and vaccinate against COVID-19
* $888.1 million for mental health care
HOUSING
* New housing investment of $6.2 billion
* An extra $1 billion to states and territories to deliver new housing
* Additional $1.9 billion in concessional finance for social and affordable homes
* An extra $423 million for the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness
* $88.8 million for 20,000 new fee-free TAFE places, including pre-apprenticeship programs, in courses for the construction sector
BUSINESS
* $290 million to extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small businesses
* $10.8 million to support the mental and financial wellbeing of small business owners
* $25.3 million to improve payment times to small businesses
* $23.3 million to increase eInvoicing adoption
*$10 million to provide additional support for small business employers administering the Paid Parental Leave scheme
* $20.5 million to the Fair Work Ombudsman
REGIONS
* $519.1 million from the Future Drought Fund for farmers and rural communities
* $68 million to roll out community wi-fi in remote communities and better support digital literacy
* Funds for improving remote airstrips
DEFENCE
* $56 billion allocated for defence in 2024/25
* $101.8 million over seven years from 2024/25 to build the industrial workforce required for Australia’s planned nuclear-powered submarines
* $68.4 million over seven years from 2024/25 for initiatives in the new Skills and Training Academy
* $34.7 million over six years from 2024/25 for the Shipbuilding Employment Pathways
* $16.3 million over six years from 2024/25 for 3,000 scholarships for students relevant to the nuclear-powered submarine programme
* $123.8 million to maintain and enhance civil maritime security capabilities
* $165.7 million will also help businesses to scale up and deliver the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities
* $268 million to support the development of defence industries and skills
INFRASTRUCTURE
* An additional $16.5 billion for new and existing infrastructure projects across the country over 10 years
* $466.4 million to advance Australia’s quantum computing capabilities
* $138.7 million to improve Australia’s response and resilience to natural hazards and disasters
* $174.6 million from the National Water Grid Fund to enhance water security, boost agricultural production and help drought-proof regional communities
* $288.1 million to expand Digital ID into a whole-of-economy service
* $448.7 million for advanced satellite data on climate, agriculture, and natural disasters
EDUCATION
* Student debt relief totalling $3 billion for more than three million Australians
* To cap the student loan indexation rate to be the lower of either the consumer price index or the wage price index
WELFARE
* $468.7 million to support people with disabilities
* $227.6 million for a new specialised disability employment program to support approximately 270,000 Australians with disability to prepare for and find work
* $1.8 billion to support additional frontline staff at Services Australia
* $630.3 million to enhance myGov
* $314.1 million to enhance safety and security at Services Australia
* $41.2 million in targeted support for JobSeeker Payment recipients with additional barriers to work
AGED CARE
* $2.2 billion to improve aged care
* $531.4 million to release an additional 24,100 Home Care Packages in 2024/25
* $1.2 billion in critical digital systems to support the introduction of the new Aged Care Act and deliver a contemporary IT system.
* $87.2 million for workforce initiatives to attract nurses and other workers into aged care
INDIGENOUS
* $111.1 million to improve remote First Nations communities’ access to essential services in the Northern Territory
* $53.8 million to establish First Nations language centres and expand learning services
* $29.1 million to partner with First Nations community-controlled peak bodies to improve early childhood and education outcomes
* $100 million to establish the Outcomes Fund and supporting place-based strategies in skills and employment
ENVIRONMENT
* $17.6 million for operations of the Antarctic program’s main research vessel, RSV Nuyina
* $163.3 million for safety works and year-round scientific programs for the Macquarie Island research station
* $48 million for reforms to reform Australia’s carbon credit scheme
* $40.9 million allocated to the Nature Repair Market to attract businesses and philanthropists to invest in projects to protect the environment
DISABILITY
* $214 million over two years to fight fraud and to design NDIS reforms
* $160.7 million to upgrade the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s information technology
* $45.5 million to establish an NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee
* $20 million to start consultation and design on reforms to help NDIS participants and people with disability navigate services
Aaron Sheldrick
(Australian Associated Press)
