ACT Chief Minister and Treasurer Andrew Barr has delivered his 13th ACT budget. Here are the main takeaways.
Budget figures
Surging revenue has given the ACT government a chance to chart a path back to surplus for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis, but the budget warns of slower growth and falling household spending as inflation-busting efforts bite.
The deficit is expected to fall to $442.7 million in 2023-24, drop again to $161.5 million the following fiscal year and then return to surplus in 2025-26. The budget papers estimate a surplus of $212.1 million in 2026-27.
Revenue from the Commonwealth's goods and services tax will grow by $165 million in the next year, and more than $500 million over three years, as a result of a recalibration in the way the territory's share of the tax is calculated.
Stronger payroll tax growth, higher interest earnings on ACT investments, a bigger share of Commonwealth grants, and more land tax collected as a result of higher property values has all contributed to the $177.5 million in extra revenue in the next financial year.
However, the government expects to receive $99 million less than it had forecast mainly as a result of fewer land sales in 2023-24. Market conditions would affect the profitability of the government's land release program, the budget papers said.
The government's net-debt is expected to rise to more than $10 billion by the end of the forward estimates, Net debt will be $7.25 billion in 2023-24, and represent 13.6 per cent of gross state product.
Education
The 2023-24 budget continues a push to build new schools and expand existing schools to deal with enrolment pressures with just over $800 million to be spent on capital works over four years.
The highly-anticipated second college for Gungahlin is slated to be built by December 2027 at a cost of $114 million.
Telopea Park School will be expanded by 500 places to the cost of $42.2 million while a rise in building costs has meant that an additional $85.7 million has been allocated for Garran Primary School, new Strathnairn Primary School and new North Gungahlin High School.
An extra $2.2 million will be spent on demountable classrooms for public schools. A new team of inclusive education coaches will be phased in with a $9.2 million investment as part of the ACT inclusive education strategy.
Three-year-olds will be able to attend preschool for free one day per week from next year thanks to a $50 million package which includes early childhood workforce planning initiatives.
Sports
Basketball ACT will get funding for a facility expansion at Belconnen. No figures were given in the budget, but Basketball ACT was hoping to secure $30m. Other notable funding includes:
- $7.4m to upgrade community netball facilities over two years
- $1.2m to go towards designing new multi-purpose playing fields at Mt Stromlo
- The $34m Home of Football at Throsby has been delayed again. Work is now expected to be completed in December, 2024. When funding was first announced in 2020, the project was expected to be complete by June, 2022.
- $1.2m towards making food and drinks cheaper at ACT Brumbies and Canberra Raiders games
- $2.1m towards making Mt Stromlo a mountain bike destination
- Upgrades to community sporting facilities in Hawker and Holt
Health
The key health announcement from the budget is the construction of a new hospital for Canberra's north, which the government has said will cost $1 billion.
The budget papers show there will be nearly $65 million in the next two years on design work for the hospital. The government will also spend $50 million on the transition of Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, which the government will take over next week.
The government is forecast to spend $2.2 billion on health in 2023-24 and more than $2 billion each year in the forward estimates.
Other key health investments include $124 million over four years for staffing at the expansion of Canberra Hospital and nearly $16 million to expand paediatric services, including a "hospital in the home" program.
There will also be $13.5 million spent on elective surgeries in the next financial year.
The budget has also revealed plans for a new palliative care ward at Canberra Hospital. There will be $15.5 million spent over the next four years and the ward will have 12 beds.
Housing
The centrepiece of this year's budget was a $345 million package allocated to affordable housing initiatives.
More than $265 million of that will be used to bolster social housing including an additional $177.1 million over four years to support Housing ACT, an additional $55.9 million for the growing and renewing public housing program and $20 million over four years to expand specialist homelessness service capacity.
The housing package will also focus on increasing affordable rentals and home ownership, through the indicative land release program. A series of multi-unit development sites will be released with a requirement for more than 200 affordable homes.
The government will continue the vulnerable household energy support scheme, to help community housing providers and low-income homeowners install energy efficient insulation and replace gas appliances with electrical alternatives.
An additional $80 million will be allocated for the sustainable household scheme, assisting Canberrans to switch to electric heating and cooling, purchase electric vehicles and install solar panels. Eligibility requirements will be introduced for solar-only loans.
