Federal Budget 2023: The highlights for aussie families

The Albanese government has finalised their first annual federal budget earlier this month, and millions of Australian families are considering it a win for the Labor party. As the new Labor government seeks to pull the nation out of its ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the funding increases announced following the finalisation of the federal budget were a reassurance for Australian voters.

The Albanese government stated prior to budget night that they would embark on the endeavour with the hopes of advocating for Australia’s ‘most vulnerable’ citizens, including families, pensioners, small business owners, and first home buyers. But have they succeeded?

We’ll be outlining all the highlights of the 2023 federal budget that pertain specifically to Aussie families. Read on to learn what support the Labor government will be providing to you and your household over this coming financial year.

 

On the housing crisis

With interest rates rising monumentally over the past 24 months, many Australian first home buyers are naturally feeling hesitant about the prospect of applying for a mortgage. Thankfully, the 2023 budget did include funding that would not only make it easier for prospective homeowners to secure home loans, but also to maintain them.

The Albanese government’s Housing Accord program is intent on building one million homes across Australia, alleviating the housing crisis in the lead-up to the RBA reducing their rates, which is currently forecasted to happen over the course of next financial year. Australian treasurer Jim Chalmers also announced new tax breaks for build-to-rent housing to support Australia’s currently overcrowded rental market.

The Commonwealth Rental Assistance payment is also being increased by around 15% in order to further provide support for renters during this turbulent time. As rental vacancies are currently at an all-time low and landlords seek to increase rental rates in alignment with their own mortgage repayment hikes, the additional funding for the Commonwealth Rental Assistance program can help ensure that Aussie renters don’t feel the trickle-down effects of the RBA rate rises.

 

Child Care Subsidy increase

Over one million Australian families can look forward to receiving cheaper child care rates thanks to the Albanese government’s additional funding for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). The government is expected to spend an estimated $4.5 billion to deliver the CCS scheme and to support the development of more affordable child care services.

First Nations children will receive similar benefits under their own tailored scheme, with the Albanese government announcing an additional $33.7 million to support the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector for First Nations communities in particular. This tailored scheme can expect to receive these additional funds as of July 1st, 2023.

 

Increase cut-off age for single-child benefit

Single-parent families can also enjoy their own tailored benefits, namely in the form of an increase for the cut-off age for children that are eligible to receive single-child benefits. This particular addition to the federal budget will see more single-parent families across the country enjoying the additional support provided by the Family Tax Benefit Part B.

Under this new amendment, single parents can stay on the single-child benefit until their child reaches the age of 14, upon which they will be moved to the JobSeeker payment, which provides around $180 less per week. This amendment is set to come into effect from September 20th, 2023.

 

Funding for Medicare & NDIS

With Australia’s healthcare system being under the pump for the past few years now, the Labor government vowed to provide additional funding for both Medicare as well as the NDIS upon the federal election in 2022. The 2023 budget delivered on these promises, with over $2.2 billion of additional funding being allocated towards expanding on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). This expansion will add over 300 different medications to the existing scheme, allowing Australians the opportunity to buy up to two months’ worth of medicine for the cost of a single prescription.

Alongside this, the government has allocated an additional $1.5 billion in funding for Medicare, and an estimated 8% in growth for the NDIS. The budget has also allocated around $3.5 billion for boosting bulk billing at Australian GP clinics.

Aged care workers are also set to receive an average 15% pay increase, with a whopping $11.3 billion in funding being put towards sector growth.

 

Energy rebates for households and small business owners

If you’ve received an energy rebate from the government at any point over the past few years, then we’re here to say that there is more that’s yet to come. The Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning will continue to allocate funding for state governments on providing their respective energy comparison and energy saver bonuses for all eligible households and small business owners.

These energy rebates are designed to not only provide vulnerable Australians with support for household bills and commercial operational costs, but to also provide incentives for Australians who are looking to assess and reduce their energy usage. This is a preliminary step for reducing Australia’s overall carbon emissions, starting from the ground up.

 

Lifts for JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and other support payments

With the cost of living rising across Australia, many Aussie workers were hopeful that this year’s federal budget would address the issue of stagnant wages. Thankfully, the Albanese government did not disappoint, as treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that virtually all income-support payment schemes would be receiving additional funding.

Australian job hunters can expect a boost in their JobSeeker payments, with an increase of around $40 a fortnight. Australian students on Youth Allowance and Austudy can also look forward to increases to these support payments, as can Aussie seniors who are over the age of 55 and are also currently receiving JobSeeker.

 

Of course, all these funding increases haven’t been attainable without a fair amount of sacrifice from other areas of Australia’s economic landscape. For instance, the budget also announced tax increases for the cigarette and tobacco industries, as well as increased taxation for oil and gas companies. 

Increasing taxation for these two sectors alone is estimated to bring in about $3.3 billion over the next four years. These additional funds can be used to not only support the increases outlined above, but also to provide resources for the Australian Defence Force. 

Aussie families can look forward to the majority of these funding increases coming into effect over the first quarter of FY2023. The increase to Child Care Subsidy will begin on July 1st, as the motion had been passed through Parliament late last year. Having this service available for Aussie families from the beginning of FY2023 is sure to set millions of Australian parents up for a more comfortable fiscal year than we’ve experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic.