19 September | 2023-24 NSW Budget Summary
Today, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey handed down Budget 2023-24. This is Labor’s first State Budget since 2010 and unsurprisingly, housing took centre stage. At a time where cost of living is front and centre, the Treasurer was determined to highlight the Labor Government’s spend on putting more houses on the market and thereby hopefully reducing costs. The Treasurer also announced that state-owned developer Landcom will develop 4700 homes, of which 30% will be in the affordable category.
The Budget, handed down by NSW’s first Hindu Treasurer and first female Finance Minister, Courtney Houssos, has defied expectations; NSW’s bottom line is set to be $3.6 billion better off than predicted before the election, with an $800 million surplus in 2024-25.
"This Labor budget delivers the people of New South Wales the fresh start they voted for, busting the wages cap, beginning toll reform, backing first home buyers, building new and better public schools and hospitals." – Daniel Mookhey
Source: Chris Minns via X (formerly Twitter)
The State’s first positive Budget result in six years contains more than $18 billion in new spending initiatives.
The Treasurer has long warned that cuts and new taxes would be required as he repairs the Budget after COVID-19 and election-year spending under the former Perrottet government, where the State’s deficit reached $10 billion in 2022-2023 and net debt reached $80 billion.
NSW’s surplus is expected to grow to about $1.5 billion by 2026-27, arming the Minns government with a war chest ahead of the March 2027 election.
PremierNational provides extensive announcements in Planning + Infrastructure, Energy + Environment, Transport, Education and Health portfolio areas below. Other key announcements include:
An expanded first home buyers assistance scheme, with a stamp duty exemption for first home buyers for properties valued under $800,000 and a concessional rate for purchases between $800,000 and $1 million, targeting 84% of first home buyers.
Toll relief for more than 720,000 drivers and commuters in the form of a $60 a week cap. This program is expected to cost $568 million over two years.
$4 billion for natural disaster support and recovery programs to “pay the bills left behind from the March 2021 floods, the November 2021 floods, the February and July 2022 floods, and the floods in August and September 2022”.
PLANNING + INFRASTRUCTURE
The 2023-24 Budget delivers $2.2 billion investment to pay for more housing, critical infrastructure and better planning for housing. This includes:
$1.5 billion to build infrastructure such as roads, parks, hospitals and schools to support the construction of new homes across Sydney, the Lower Hunter, Central Coast and the Illawarra.
$400 million, reserved in Restart NSW, for the new Housing Infrastructure Fund, which will deliver infrastructure that will increase housing supply across the State.
$300 million for Landcom to accelerate the construction of thousands of new homes, with 30 per cent affordable housing, and an additional $60 million for Landcom to support build-to-rent developments being delivered on the NSW North and South coasts.
$24 million to establish an NSW Building Commission to support high quality housing and protect home buyers from sub-standard buildings.
$9.1 million to assess housing supply opportunities across government-owned sites, including for the delivery of new social housing.
$5.6 million for artificial intelligence to deliver planning system efficiencies.
Overhaul and simplification of the planning system by redirecting resources from the Greater Cities Commission and Western Parkland City Authority.
The 2023-24 Budget also provides critical support programs to our most vulnerable people through a $224 million Essential Housing Package. The package includes:
$70 million debt financing to accelerate the delivery of social, affordable and private homes primarily in regional NSW.
$35.3 million to continue to provide housing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families through Services Our Way.
$35 million to support critical maintenance for social housing.
$20 million reserved in Restart NSW for dedicated mental health housing.
$15 million to establish a NSW Housing Fund for urgent priority housing and homelessness measures to confront the housing crisis.
$11.3 million to extend the Together Home program.
$11 million urgent funding injection to Temporary Accommodation in 2023-24 to support rising homelessness.
$10.5 million urgent funding injection to the Community Housing Leasing Program.
$10 million Modular Housing Trial to deliver faster quality social housing.
$5.9 million urgent funding for 2023-24 to allow specialist homelessness services to address increasing demand.
The 2023-24 Budget invests the following in road infrastructure:
The Urban Roads fund puts $200 million over two years into the Western Sydney Floods Resilience Plan.
The connecting Sydney Roads will allocate $429.8 million to Western Sydney in 2023-24, totalling $3 billion over the four years.
$2.6 billion in funding allocated across the next four years to the NSW Road Safety Action Plan 2026.
ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT
The 2023-24 Budget invests $3.9 billion in the clean energy future of NSW this financial year, aiming to deliver clean and affordable power and ensure the lights stay on for homes, businesses and industry. This includes:
$263 million to increase electric vehicle uptake in NSW, with a new NSW EV Strategy prioritising charging infrastructure in regional and metropolitan areas.
$1 billion to establish an Energy Security Corporation, which will invest in storage and firming projects like pumped hydro and address gaps in the market.
$804 million for Transmission Acceleration Facility, to connect Renewable Energy Zones to the grid sooner.
Along with the Commonwealth Government, $1.3 billion to provide energy rebates and targeted energy bill relief to up to 1.6 million eligible households and around 300,000 eligible small businesses.
$480 million to increase NSW’s manufacturing capacity and capability for delivering critical components of the state’s emerging renewable energy sector.
TRANSPORT
The 2023-24 Budget invests $72.3 billion over the next four years to improve road, train, metro, bus, ferry, light rail, and active transport options, and play a vital role in helping the NSW Government unlock more housing. This includes:
$7.9 billion over four years to deliver the Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport, with six new stations to service the future Western Sydney International Airport.
$302.7 million reserved for a Western Sydney Rapid Bus network to connect the communities of Penrith, Liverpool, Campbelltown to the future Western Sydney International Airport.
$300 million to upgrade train station car parks and make stations more accessible through the installation of new lifts, ramps and footbridges.
$200 million reserved to expedite the planning for the procurement, construction and delivery of Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 for Western Sydney.
$71.1 million to return Freshwater Class ferries to the Circular Quay-Manly route.
$43 million for seven new Australian-made Parramatta River Class ferries.
$15.8 million for Transport for NSW to invest in the Public Transport Information and Priority System to improve real time bus tracking for passengers. This investment will help end “ghost buses” and improve the reliability and confidence of passengers and was a key recommendation of the Bus Industry Taskforce Report.
$60 million in additional investment for active transport infrastructure. This will enable local councils to deliver projects that expand cycleway networks and increase opportunities for walking, including in greenfield developments in Western Sydney.
EDUCATION
The 2023-24 NSW Budget committed record investment in teaching and school infrastructure. This includes:
$1.9 billion to fund a 4.5 per cent rise in teacher wages making the salaries of the 95,000-strong workforce among the most competitive in the country.
$40 million will go to new teacher recruitment programs and trials of new methods in schools.
$3.5 billion over four years for 24 new and 51 upgraded primary and high schools in Western Sydney.
$1.4 billion over four years for new schools in Regional NSW.
$1.6 billion towards an expanded preschool fee relief program.
$769.3 million for 100 new preschools on public school sites.
HEALTH
$2.5 billion over four years for the State’s frontline healthcare workforce. This includes:
The largest pay increase in more than a decade for New South Wales health workers.
$438.6 million to recruit an extra 500 rural and regional paramedics.
$419.1 million to deliver Safe Staffing Levels in NSW Hospitals and to recruit an extra 1,200 nurses and midwives.
$13.8 billion over four years for new and upgraded hospitals across the State, including one of the largest investments in Western Sydney health infrastructure in recent memory. This includes:
600 new beds in Western Sydney Hospitals.
$120 million for expansion of Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospital to increase bed capacity.
$190 million for upgrades to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
$350 million to expand Canterbury Hospital and upgrade existing infrastructure.
$550 million for expansion of Fairfield Hospital to deliver more beds, increase capacity of the emergency and critical care services, and expand other hospital and community health services.
An additional $400 million to build the new $700 million Rouse Hill Hospital with additional services.
$1.3 billion to rebuild Bankstown Hospital on a new site to meet growing needs of the community.
$3.8 billion in new and upgraded regional health facilities, including:
$7.5 million for the Milton Ulladulla Hospital and upgrades to the Community Cancer Service Centre.
$200 million for the Bathurst Hospital redevelopment.
$538 million for Albury Wodonga Regional Hospital.
$100 million in women’s healthcare services:
$34.3 million to support 20 women’s healthcare centres.
$52.7 million will fund 48 new Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and forensic staff.
$18.6 million to fund 29 new and 8 existing breast care nurses.
$7.3 million to support pharmacists to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections and prescribe the contraceptive pill.
