Relief now, growth tomorrow: Chalmers

“We are delivering more tax relief for every Australian taxpayer, more energy bill relief and cheaper medicines,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a press release, prepared jointly with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“We are strengthening Medicare, investing in housing and education, advancing reforms to make our economy stronger, and building a Future Made in Australia.

“The budget builds on the strong foundations we have laid, helping to secure our nation’s future at a time of global uncertainty.

“We know Australians have made sacrifices, and the Albanese Labor Government remains focused on delivering for households.

“We’re providing relief now and investing in the future, while delivering the biggest improvement to the bottom line in a single parliamentary term.

“This means smaller deficits and much lower debt compared to what we inherited.”

While the government expects a deficit result for the next 10 years, Mr Chalmers said the budget forecasts an improvement in the bottom line over the forward estimates and a lower deficit in 2025–26.

Treasury also expects inflation to return sustainably to the RBA’s target band six months earlier than previously expected.

“Today, because of the work Australians have done together, our economy is turning the corner,” he said.

“Inflation is down, unemployment is low, real wages are growing again, and interest rates have started to come down.”

Key areas of the budget are summarised as follows:

Easing the cost of living:

Budget items include - New tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer; Another $150 energy rebate for every household and small businesses; Even cheaper medicines by reducing the PBS co‑payment; Higher wages for aged care nurses; and a fair go for Australian consumers.

Strengthening Medicare:

Budget items include - $7.9 billion to increase bulk billing, so Australians can see a GP for free; 50 more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Australia; $1.8 billion to fund public hospitals; $793 million invested to deliver more choice, lower costs and better care for women; and hundreds more training places for doctors and nurses.

Making it easier to buy and rent a home:

Budget items include - $54 million to accelerate the uptake of modern methods of construction to build more homes faster; A ban on foreign investors from purchasing existing homes; and incentives to train more construction workers.

Investing in every stage of education:

Budget items include - Investments in public schools to put them on a path to full and fair funding; $5 billion to expand access to early education and care and fund a historic wage rise for early educators; Cuts to student debt and lowering repayments; and funding for 100,000 free TAFE places every year from 2027.

Building a stronger economy:

Budget items include - Competition reforms like progressing national occupational licensing for electrical trades; Reforms to non‑compete clauses for low and middle‑income workers to lift affected workers’ wages by up to four per cent or $2500 a year; More support for small businesses, taking Labor’s total targeted small business commitments in this term of Parliament to more than $2 billion; More than $3 billion to unlock investment in green metals and manufacturing; $17.1 billion to deliver vital infrastructure; and up to $3 billion to complete the NBN rollout.

Responsible economic and fiscal management:

The budget position has improved by $207 billion over the seven years to 2028-29 - the biggest turnaround in the budget in a Parliamentary term.

The deficit in 2025-26 is projected to be $42.1 billion, lower than the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook and what we inherited.

Debt is $177 billion lower in 2024-25 than what was forecast at the last election, helping to avoid around $60 billion in interest costs.

“This Budget continues the Albanese Government’s economic plan which is focused on finishing the fight against inflation, delivering responsible cost of living relief and building a stronger economy and stronger budget,” Mr Chalmers said.