The 2023-24 federal budget includes $14.6 billion of what the government calls "targeted relief" for Australians who are struggling with the rising cost of living.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the support will come in the form of things such as lower power bills, increased welfare payments and more affordable housing.
Let's take a look at where the cost-of-living relief is going, and who is set to benefit.
What support is there for rising power bills?
The government says states and territories will help to co-fund "up to $3 billion of direct energy bill relief to vulnerable households and small businesses".
More than 5 million households will have up to $500 deducted from their power bills in the next financial year, Mr Chalmers says.
Those households include:
- Concession card holders
- People receiving family and carers payments
- People who get electricity concessions under current schemes in their state or territory
Rebates will be applied directly to electricity bills — a move the government says will "minimise any potential inflationary impacts".
The government says electricity bill increases "are now expected to be around 25 percentage points smaller on average nationwide in 2023-24" and 16 percentage points less for gas, compared to previous expectations.
The Energy Bill Relief Fund will provide energy bill relief for pensioners, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders, Family Tax Benefit A and B recipients and small business customers of electricity retailers.
There's also money to help homes and businesses reduce their bills by becoming more energy efficient.
The budget sets aside $1 billion to invest in more than 110,000 low-cost loans for "double-glazing, solar panels and other improvements that will make homes easier — and cheaper — to keep cool in summer and warm in winter".
There is also $300 million to help reduce energy bills by around a one-third for tenants in 60,000 social housing properties.
For businesses, the budget includes a new Small Business Energy Incentive, which the government says will help small and medium-sized businesses carry out energy saving upgrades to reduce their power bills.
The government says the incentive will help businesses pay for upgrades such as electrifying heating and cooling systems, installing batteries, and switching to more efficient electrical goods.
Here's what the budget papers say on which businesses will be eligible:
"Up to 3.8 million small and medium businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million will have access to a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction for the cost of eligible depreciating assets, from 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024.
"The Small Business Energy Incentive will be available for up to $100,000 of total expenditure on eligible assets."
What is the government doing to make housing more affordable?
As Australia's housing crisis continues, the government has announced a range of measures it says will make housing more affordable.
For renters, the government is increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance by the largest amount in more than 30 years.
From September 2023, the maximum rates of assistance will go up by 15 per cent for eligible people — a move the government says will see 1.1 million households better off.
"This will provide up to $31 extra a fortnight for people renting in the private market and community housing," Mr Chalmers says.
"But we know an essential part of the solution to pressures in the housing market is more homes for Australians."
For first home buyers, the government is expanding eligibility for the First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee to "any two borrowers jointly applying beyond the scope of spouse or de facto couples, and non-first home buyers who have not held a property interest in Australia within the previous 10 years".
The Family Home Guarantee will also be expended to single legal guardians of dependents, in addition to natural and adoptive parents.
To increase housing supply and support home ownership, the budget also pushes for more low-cost loans to Community Housing Providers by lifting the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation's liability cap by $2 billion, to $7.5 billion. It's expected to create around 7,000 new social and affordable homes.
The government says there are also incentives to drive private sector build-to-rent projects, including accelerated depreciation and halving the managed investment trust withholding tax rate from 30 per cent to 15 per cent.
The treasurer says the government is working with the states and territories "to improve planning, build more houses and deliver a better deal for renters".
To help Australians who are sleeping rough, the government says it has also offered states another $67.5 million to help tackle homelessness.
What's happening with medicines and Medicare?
To reduce out-of-pocket health costs, the budget includes a $3.5 billion investment over five years to give GPs more incentive to bulk bill millions of eligible Australians — 5.1 million children under 16, and 7.9 million concession card holders.
The government says the incentive will be higher in regional and rural areas, where some general practices have struggled to remain viable.
For medicines, the budget includes a $2.2 billion increase to access for medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Another element previously announced is that from September, many Australians with chronic illnesses will be able to get two months' worth of medication for the price of one, which the government says will save those people up to $180 a year.
In regional and remote areas, there will be $79.5 million of investment over four years to double the Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance.
The government is also increasing the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for singles, families and seniors and pensioners from July 1 2022, which means more people will be exempt from paying the Medicare levy in their 2022-23 tax returns.
Is JobSeeker rising? What about other welfare payments?
Yes.
JobSeeker's base rate is increasing by $40 per fortnight — as is Youth Allowance, Austudy and other income support payments.
The single biggest group on JobSeeker — those aged 55 and over, who are mostly women — will also see an increase in their support. The higher rate of JobSeeker, which currently applies to those 60 and over, will be expanded to include people 55 and over who have received the payment for nine or more continuous months.
The government says this means around 52,000 people will see an increase in their base rate of payment of $92.10 per fortnight.
For parents, the government had already announced it would raise the cut-off for single parent payments from when their youngest child turns eight to when they turn 14.
The treasurer says the move will give 57,000 families an extra $176.90 per fortnight, at a cost of $1.9 billion over five years.
The government says around 1.2 million families will also be paying less for child care from July this year.
What's in the budget to support wages growth?
The treasurer says that when it comes to the cost of living, "fair wages for workers are not the problem. They’re part of the solution".
"Meaningful and sustainable wages growth is a fundamental feature of an economy that rewards people for their hard work," he says.
The budget includes a previously announced 15-per-cent rise in award wages for more than 250,000 aged care workers, at a cost of $11.3 billion.
"The message from our government to the aged-care workers of Australia is simple: you deserve every cent," the treasurer says.
Elsewhere, the government says it has again recommended the Fair Work Commission ensure the real wages of Australia's lowest-paid workers don't go backwards.
In 2022 the commission ruled that around 2.7 million award wage workers would see a minimum pay rise of $40 per week.
The government says it is "consulting on further changes to workplace relations to improve fairness for workers".
"This includes standing up for casual workers, criminalising wage theft, minimum standards for gig economy workers and progressing same job, same pay reforms for labour hire workers," it says.
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