The budget that was announced on Tuesday night brought several wins for low-income earners, JobSeeker recipients, aged care workers, childcare, small businesses, and renters. In this budget, the government introduced several incentives and investments to support different sectors of the Australian economy. Here’s a breakdown of some of the key announcements:
Small Businesses
The Small Business asset write-off will increase to $20,000 for one year, starting from July 1, 2023. This means that businesses can write off multiple assets that cost less than $20,000 each.
The Small Business Energy Incentive will help up to 3.8 million SMEs to save on their energy bills and upgrade their facilities.
The Energy Bill Relief Fund will help around 1 million eligible small businesses save up to $650 on their power bills through a one-off reduction.
The government will spend $23.4 million to fund a program to combat cyber threats, which will be delivered by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.
The government will invest $101.2 million over the next five years to support Small Businesses in adopting AI and Quantum technologies to aid in business operations. A percentage of the funds will also go to upgrading the National AI Centre.
Startups/SMEs
To support innovators and start-ups, the government will establish a new Industry Growth Program, which will help emerging businesses transition their ideas into growing enterprises. This will include both advice and investment backing to commercialise their ideas.
Aged Care
The government will invest $11.3 billion to increase the pay of aged-care workers by 15%.
Health
The government will spend $3.5 billion over the next five years to increase incentives for General Practitioners to bulk-bill.
Eight new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will open with extended business hours and no out-of-pocket costs, making a total of 57 clinics Australia-wide.
The cost of medicine for around 6 million eligible Australians will be reduced by up to 50%.
Targets for Women
From 2024, $5 million will be invested in providing organizations with appropriate expertise in supporting women in the workplace to aid women in historically male-dominated trades.
The $5 million is said to attract and retain women in male-dominated industries by providing support to “reduce cultural barriers to women’s participation” as well as creating safe and inclusive workplaces through education and advice.
Veterans
An additional $2 million will be spent over the next two years to aid the Department of Veterans Affairs to support suicide intervention training and mental health literacy programs for the ex-service community.
$64.1 million over the next financial year will aid in claims for support, case management, rehabilitation, pharmacy, as well as health approvals.
Welfare/Households
From September 20, JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Partnered Parenting, and Austudy payment will increase by $40 a fortnight.
The government will spend $3 billion in energy bill relief to those who are eligible, including pensioners, seniors health card holders, and family tax benefits recipients, to address the rising cost of living.
Single parents will be able to claim single parenting payments until their youngest child is 14 years old, up from the previous age of 8, estimating an additional $176.90 a fortnight for approximately 57,000 families.
Childcare/Parental Leave
Cheaper childcare will be delivered, benefiting around 1.2 million families.
As of July 1, the Parental Leave Pay and Dad/Partner Payment will be combined into a single 20-week payment.
The government has pledged to increase Paid Parental Leave to 26 weeks by 2026.
Cybersecurity
To tackle the growing threat of online scams and fraudulent activities, the Government will allocate $58 million to establish a National Anti-Scam Centre.
Approximately $17 million will be invested over the next four years to detect and combat fraudulent websites.
The Environment
To achieve the goal of net zero emissions, the government has committed an additional $4 billion to support Australia’s transition to a “Renewable Energy Superpower”.
This initiative includes funding to support hydrogen production and a shift towards clean, affordable and reliable energy.
To ensure communities benefit from this transition, the government has established the Net Zero Authority.
Click here for the full 2023 Federal Budget Report.
