Labor has delivered its first federal budget in almost 10 years with a promise to make life “easier for Australians”.
Jim Chalmers had said the budget would provide cost of living relief “responsibly and not recklessly” without increasing inflation.
The treasurer stressed on Tuesday that the federal government had to show considerable spending restraint and that no major surprises were expected.
NCA NewsWire took a look at this year’s winners and losers.
WINNERS
parents
Australians were promised a “family-friendly” budget that would include an expanded paid parental leave scheme.
For the first time, couples will be assessed with a combined income of up to $350,000 to be eligible for the Commonwealth’s paid parental leave scheme. Starting July 1, 2024, the plan will be extended by an additional two weeks a year until reaching the full 26 weeks in 2026. The new arrangements will cost the budget $531.6 million over the next four years and $619.3 million each year after that.
The Treasurer had said cheaper childcare would be the “biggest budget commitment” under Labour’s cornerstone pre-election promise to cut costs.
Labor will increase the maximum subsidy rate to 90% for all families for the first dependent child and increase subsidies for every family earning less than $530,000 in household income.
The government will spend $4.7 billion over the next four years and $1.7 billion annually after that on its plan. The lion’s share of the funding, $4.6 billion, will go to child care subsidies.
The government will also spend $10.8 million on an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation into spiraling prices in the childcare sector.
patients
The promise of cheaper drugs was one of the main cost-of-living measures touted by Labor ahead of the Budget.
Labor has introduced legislation to parliament to reduce the maximum overall co-payment for medicines on the PBS from $42.50 to $30. That means the federal government will increase the amount it spends subsidizing about 17 million scripts filled out for about 3 million people a year.
The government will spend $787.1 million over four years and $233.4 million each year after that to reduce the amount customers pay for the cost of medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
The government will also fund a range of other mental health services, primary care and hospital improvements, including regional Australia, and fund some new treatments in the Medicare Benefits Program, including nuclear medicine imaging treatments for cancer patients.
The government will provide $47.7 million over four years to restore Medicare funding for bulk-billed telehealth psychiatry in telehealth-eligible areas in regional and rural Australia, bringing a burden of 50% for consultations.
Australians earn between $45,000 and $200,000
Debate over the controversial third-phase tax cut package dominated the headlines in early October after speculation swirled about whether they would be scrapped or scaled back. But politics has been spared in this budget, as the treasurer foreshadowed. Labor had ruled out making any policy changes, at least for now.
Labor promised before the federal election to keep the third tranche of tax changes, which include cuts that mean anyone earning between $45,000 and $200,000 will pay no more than 30 cents of every dollar they earn in tax. The latest Treasury cost of the policy revealed it had faded by $11 billion ($243 billion to $254 billion) over a decade.
Residents and care workers for the elderly
One of the other big election commitments funded in this budget was Labor’s promised aged care reforms costing $2.5 billion over the next four years. Most of the funding will go towards paying staff. All senior care facilities must have a registered nurse on site at all times starting July 1, 2023. And each resident must receive 215 minutes of care each day starting October 2024.
The government will also spend $540.3 million in response to the final report of the Royal Commission into the Quality and Safety of Care for Older People. This includes $68.5 million to strengthen governance and support the implementation of aged care reforms in regional areas.
Labor pledged before the election to fund the outcome of a Fair Work Commission case which is currently determining whether aged care workers should receive a pay rise.
Australians over 55
The government will allow more people to make smaller contributions to their retirement by lowering the minimum eligibility age from 60 to 55. The step-down contribution allows people to make a one-off after-tax contribution to their retirement of up to $300,000 per person from the proceeds of the sale of their home.
The government will also spend $73.2 million over four years, and $400,000 each year after that, to help pensioners downsize by extending the asset test exemption for proceeds from the sale of their houses
The government will also provide $61.9 million over two years to fund $4,000 worth of one-off credits for old age pensioners and veterans. This will increase the amount pensioners can earn, without their payments being reduced, from $7,800 to $11,800, so pensioners who want to work more hours will be able to do so.
students
Tens of thousands of TAFE and university students studying in skills shortage areas will get free education. The government will pay 20,000 students from under-represented backgrounds to study university courses including nursing and engineering.
Teacher training courses have gained more funding. The budget includes $159 million to train an additional 4,036 teachers as part of a national action plan drawn up by Education Minister Jason Clare and his state and territory counterparts to address the country’s severe shortage of educators.
The higher education providers receiving the most funding for additional places are Charles Darwin University, the University of Wollongong and Curtin University. The extra places will be for students from next year and in 2024 with an investment of up to $485.5 million over the next four years.
The government will also cover the cost of 180,000 free TAFE and vocational education places by 2023, with additional support for the participation of women and other disadvantaged groups. The move was announced at the jobs and skills summit in September. The places will be made up of an additional 60,000 places and lowering the rates of the existing 120,000 paid TAFE places. This is the first step in Labour’s wider commitment to deliver 480,000 free TAFE and vocational courses.
Regional Internet and telephone users
About 1.5 million Australian homes and businesses have been promised better access to an improved Wi-Fi network. The budget includes a $2.4 billion capital investment for the company that runs the National Broadband Network. The government is committed to expanding full fiber access to the NBN, with a focus on outer suburbs and regional areas. The government has also provided $757.7 million over five years to improve mobile and broadband connectivity and resilience in rural and regional Australia. Meanwhile, $4.7 million over three years will support the delivery of free broadband to up to 30,000 unconnected families with school-aged students in calendar year 2023.
Ukrainians
The government will provide $213.3 million over five years to provide additional aid to Ukraine following the Russian invasion. This includes $185.6 million in military aid, such as the distribution of Bushmasters armored vehicles. Labour’s pledge builds on the $156.5 million the Coalition promised for Ukraine in the March budget.
Some home buyers
The government will contribute $350 million to the new national housing deal it has signed with the states and territories and private investors, including the pensions industry. The plan will aim to build one million new homes with a focus on regional areas over five years from 2024. Under the deal, the government will contribute $350 million over five years, with long-term availability payments , to provide 10,000 additional homes. affordable housing.
The government will invest $10 billion in the newly created Housing Australia Future Fund, which will be managed by the Future Fund Management Agency, to generate returns to fund the delivery of 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years and allocate $330 million for acute housing needs.
Labor will spend $324.6 million over four years to establish its Shared Help to Buy plan to help people on low to moderate incomes buy a new or existing home.
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee will be offered to 10,000 people each year from October. The scheme will support regional first home buyers to purchase new or existing homes with a deposit of just 5%. It is not funded in this budget, however, because Labor says it will cover the cost by reallocating funding for a similar measure that was included in the March budget.
Women
Women’s safety and economic equity are a key feature of the budget. The government will invest $1.7 billion over six years to implement the new 10-year national plan to end violence against women and children. The government is also committed to introducing a gender-responsive budget, assessing key measures based on gender impact to ensure that outcomes for women are considered as part of the budget decision-making process. The Treasurer said Labor agreed that full employment, productivity growth and equal opportunities for women should be core government policy goals.
Drivers of electric vehicles
The budget includes a series of measures to build infrastructure and improve the use of electric vehicles. The government will spend an extra $275.4 million over six years on its clean transport fund, bringing the total Commonwealth investment to $500 million. The money will go towards projects such as building a national electric vehicle charging network and hydrogen refueling stations on Australian roads. Labor will also cut taxes on the sale of electricity…