2019-2020 Federal Budget Summary

a6702330-1bb7-4122-b59b-a43cfcc81ad0.png

"Tonight, I announce that the Budget is back in the black and Australia is back on track."


Hon Josh Frydenberg MP

Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia

Overview

Tonight, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down his first Budget, setting the stage for the Federal Election which could be announced as early as the end of this week. The theme for this year’s budget was “a stronger economy and a secure future”. The major announcement from the budget was that the government has delivered on its promise to return the Budget to surplus. After strong fiscal discipline and an unexpected windfall from higher commodity prices, the government announced that it will deliver a surplus of $7.1 billion in 2019-20, marking the first time since the Howard government that the government will be in surplus.

Other major announcements included:

  • Tax cuts for lower and middle income earners including the doubling of the annual tax offset from $530 to $1080, and an increase to the top threshold for the 19 per cent tax bracket from $41,000 to $45,000. From July 1 2024, the 37 per cent tax bracket will also be abolished and the 32.5 per cent bracket will be lowered to 30 per cent meaning that tax rate for people earning between $45,000 and $200,000 will be the same.

  • $100 billion in infrastructure commitments including $2 billion to deliver fast rail from Geelong to Melborune and $3.5 billion for the first stage of the Western Sydney Rail North South Rail Link.

Overall the budget demonstrated the Coalition's strong fiscal management over the course of their term in office.

Economic Outlook

35f9ca70-dd3c-4ad6-92c8-45b5b32f67d6.png

Key Portfolio Measures

Below we have summarised the key budget announcements, grouped by portfolio area.

Agriculture + Water Resources

  • $30 million over four years to develop a national policy for agriculture biodiversity practices 

  • A $29.4 million package over four years to support agricultural exports and trade including $11.4 million to support technical market access for horticulture exports 

  • $4.2 million over four years to improve and maintain the National Drought Map 


Attorney-General's

  • $527.9 million over five years from 2018-19 to support the work of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability 

  • $104.5 million over four years to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission, an independent agency tasked with investigating corruption in the public sector 

  • $43.9 million over five years to fund additional judges on the Federal Court of Australia 

  • $2.5 million in 2019-20 for consultation on a national museum or memorial for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse and for preparatory work for a national orphanage museum 


Communications + The Arts

  • $17.1 million over three years from 2019-20 to Free TV Australia for the delivery of 1,000 hours of Australian television content to broadcasters in the Pacific 

  • An additional $73.3 million over three years from 2019-20 for Australia’s public broadcasters ($43.7 million for the ABC and $29.6 million for the SBS) 

  • $220 million over four years from 2019-20 to improve regional telecommunications 


Defence

  • The Coalition is maintaining its commitment to grow Australia’s defence budget to 2 per cent of GDP by 2020-21

  • $571 million in additional funding to the Australian Federal Police and ASIO 

  • $680 million for Defence to support Australian soldiers deployed overseas

  • $34.8 million for countering foreign interference


Environment + Energy

  • $2 billion over 15 years from 2019-20 for the Climate Solutions Fund (formerly the Emissions Reduction Fund) 

  • $1.38 billion in equity over six years from 2019-20 for Snowy Hydro 2.0 

  • $56 million for the Battery of the Nation and Marinus Link projects in Tasmania 

  • $4.7 million over five years from 2019-20 to support the University of Newcastle’s research into per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS)


Education + Training

  • $30.2 million in 2019-20 for the establishment of a Local School Community Fund which will assist with the provision of equipment, upgrades or programs for local schools 

  • $525.3 million over five years from 2018-19 to improve the quality of the Vocational Education and Training system 

  • $131.6 million over five years from 2018-19 to bolster Trades Recognition Australia’s skills assessments related to migration, employment and licencing 


Finance

  • $10.8 million over two years from 2019-20 for the Australian Electoral Commission to scope the deployment of new polling place technology and to upgrade core ICT infrastructure


Health

  • $20 million for additional epilepsy support services

  • $1 billion over three years from January 2020 for the Child Dental Benefits Scheme 

  • An additional $444.6 million to support additional health and medical research 

  • $200 million in 2019-20 to support the roll-out of the My Health Record System

  • $187 million to end a freeze on the Medicare rebate

  • $331 million over five years from 2018-19 for new and amended listings on the PBS including the listing of Leukaemia drug, Besponsa on the PBS

  • $100 million for a Comprehensive Children’s Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s
    Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales


Home Affairs

  • $337.2 million over five years from 2018-19 to further support the National Drug Strategy 2017-2026

  • $7.8 million over four years from 2019-20 to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to establish and host a publicly available National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders

  • $178.9 million to manage the transfer of IMAs from Nauru and Papua New Guinea to Christmas Island for medical treatment


Human Services

  • $3.9 billion for an emergency response fund, $6.3 billion for drought support and additional $3.3 billion for those affected by floods

  • $2.1 billion from 2019-20 to ease population pressures in major cities, while ensuring that regions share the benefits of population growth

  • $70.0 million over two years from 2018-19 to undertake preparatory work required for the Australian Taxation Office to migrate from its existing data centre provider to an alternative data centre facility

  • $152 million for the reduction of the supply of illegal drugs


Infrastructure, Regional Development + Cities

  • $100 billion for road and rail infrastructure over 10 years, with $42 billion to be spent over the next four years  

  • $3.5 billion for the first stage of the Western Sydney Rail North South Rail Link 

  • $3.0 billion for the Urban Congestion Fund to remediate congestion bottlenecks in urban areas, bringing the Government’s total commitment to the Urban Congestion Fund to $4.0 billion

  • $2.0 billion from 2021-22 for the delivery of fast rail from Melbourne to Geelong

  • An additional $6.1 billion from 2018-19 for priority regional and urban transport infrastructure in New South Wales


Jobs + Innovation

  • $3.4 million over four years to encourage more women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers 

  • $56.4 million over three years to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation  

  • $26.8 million over four years from 2019-20 (and $6.2 million per year ongoing) to establish a National Labour Hire Registration Scheme to protect vulnerable workers, including migrant workers

  • 80,000 new apprenticeships and extra 1.25 million jobs over the next five years 

  • $525 million investment in skills, including doubling apprenticeship incentives for business to $8,000


Social Services

  • $25.5 million for the creation of a National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. 

  • $328.0 million over four years towards initiatives to reduce domestic and family violence against women and children, including $110.9 million to improve a range of existing domestic and family violence support services. 

  • An additional $22.6 million over four years to expand and extend the National Community Hubs Program (NCHP) and establish the National Youth Hubs Program (NYHP). 


Prime Minister + Cabinet

  • $276.5 million over five years to support Indigenous students to undertake and complete study to help close the gap in education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students

  • $200.0 million over four years to fund additional scholarship placements and mentoring support for Indigenous students

  • $67.1 million to continue the development of the GovPass Program. GovPass enables the creation of a digital identity for Australian citizens which will allow them to access government services online 


Treasury

  • $606.7 million over five years to facilitate the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry

  • $11.7 million over four years (and $2.2 million per year ongoing) to improve the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s (CGC) ICT capacity. This measure will enhance the CGC’s ability to support the distribution of the GST revenues among the States and Territories

  • The tax rate for small businesses with turnovers below $50 million will drop from 27.5 per cent in the 2019-20 financial year to 25 per cent in 2021-22 - five years earlier than planned


Sport

  • $150 million funding package for women’s sport

  • $33.0 million over two years to implement reforms as part of the Government Response to the Review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements that will safeguard the integrity of Australian sport

  • $7.7 million over two years to promote the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup 2020

  • $54.1 million over two years for high performance grants to National Sporting Organisations and to support athletes through the Direct Athlete Support Scheme, and expand the Mental Health Referral Network

PremierState