Released 09/05/2023
Tonight’s Commonwealth Budget delivers for Canberrans and people around the country – addressing immediate cost of living pressures while laying the foundations for ongoing economic prosperity and improving outcomes.
The ACT Government recognises the challenges people in our community are facing with the increasing cost of living, and that's why we've partnered with the Commonwealth on Energy Price Relief Rebates.
We are committed to helping Canberrans manage their expenses and have put in place numerous incentives, rebates, and concessions to assist those in need. Additional cost of living assistance will be announced in the ACT’s Budget on June 27th.
Healthcare & Aged Care
National Cabinet has already articulated a shared vision for a ‘patient centred and sustainable Australian healthcare system that delivers the best outcome for our community’ and tonight’s Budget is an important commitment by the Federal Government to put funding on the table that will support delivering this vision.
The bulk billing incentive will be tripled for the most common consultations with children under the age of 16, pensioners and other Commonwealth concession card holders.
The higher bulk billing incentive will support GPs to bulk bill around 157,000 eligible Australians at the 105 practices already bulk billing in the ACT.
The costs of healthcare also significantly impacts households and we welcome the Budget commitment that general patients will be able save up to $180 a year if their medicine is able to be prescribed for 60 days, concession card holders will save up to $43.80 a year per medicine.
This Budget allocates $11.3 billion over 4 years to fund the Fair Work Commission’s interim decision for a 15 per cent increase to minimum wages for many aged care workers. This will support around 5,040 award aged care workers in the ACT to earn between $129 and $341 more per week based on a 38-hour week.
The ACT Government also welcomes the $737 million package to crack down on vaping and reduce smoking. We will work with the Commonwealth to stamp out the black market in illegal vaping and to end the sale of vapes in retail settings such as convenience stores.
Housing
We welcome the 15% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance which will support around 7,700 recipients in the ACT.
The delivery of the targets and objectives set out in the National Housing Accord is critical to addressing housing affordability.
We look forward to finalising with the Commonwealth Government the ACT Implementation Schedule under the Housing Accord to increase housing supply, affordability and choice in Canberra.
We also welcome the Government’s announcement that it will lower the Managed Investment Trust withholding tax rate from 30% to 15% for Build-to-Rent projects – capital should no longer be the barrier to increasing long-term affordable rental supply.
Energy and Climate
Tonight the Federal Government has announced Energy Price Relief Rebates joint with the ACT Government to provide responsible and meaningful energy bill relief and help ease the pressure on families and small businesses.
Delivered in partnership between the Commonwealth and ACT Government from 1 July, eligible ACT households will receive a $175 annual energy rebate on their power bills.
All ACT households and businesses will also benefit from the ACT’s Large-scale Feed-in Tariff Scheme which is estimated to provide energy bill relief of $152 per year to the average household.
This announcement means over 31,000 households eligible for the existing concession could receive $1,075. Around 25,000 households will receive $327, depending on their energy consumption. All households in the ACT will receive some cost of living relief on their energy bills in the next financial year.
The ACT Government has also secured a $7.5 million investment in our award-winning Sustainable Household Scheme – assisting more Canberra households to electrify their homes and vehicles, reducing their long term running costs.
Childcare
From tonight’s Budget lower childcare costs will start from July 1, providing cheaper child care for about 1.2 million families, including more than 20,000 in the ACT.
A typical family earning about $120,000 with a child in care three days a week will save about $1,700 a year.
This is particularly welcome for Canberra given our significantly above national average level of employment and workforce participation.
This important initiative will support an even higher level of participation in the labour market and help address skill shortages in our economy.
Business and Investment
The Commonwealth and ACT Governments are also providing operating support for small businesses.
The ACT’s Large-scale Feed-in Tariff Scheme deliver $624 per year to the average small business and eligible small businesses will also be able to access an additional the $325 through the Energy Price Relief Rebate package negotiated with the Federal Government – a total saving of almost $950 based on average energy consumption.
We also welcome the Small Business Energy Tax Incentive to help small business invest in electrifying their businesses and making them more efficient – aligning with the efforts of the ACT’s nation leading electrification agenda.
Education, Skills and Migration
The ACT Government welcomes the Australian Government’s strong commitment to vocational education and training (VET) through its recent announcement of $4.1 billion for the five year National Skills Agreement from 2024.
As part of the Fee Free TAFE initiative 3,000 places are funded in the ACT.
The ACT Government also welcomes a commitment to VET initiatives that support gender equality and closing the gap, improving student completion rates and establishing centres of excellence in critical areas such as the transition to a clean economy.
We will continue to work with the Australian Government on finalising the details of the National Skills Agreement and continuing discussions around the skilled migration program following the successful Jobs and Skills Summit last year.
Tourism and National Collecting Institutions
We also warmly welcome the already-announced $535 million increase in funding to our national cultural institutions. This funding will flow into Canberra residents’ salaries and work projects. These organisations attract millions of visitors every year, and strengthen the Canberra economy and Australian culture, which is why the ACT Government lobbied strongly for this support.
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Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases