Last night Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered the 2021 Federal Budget and you’re probably already being swamped with analysis and coverage. So we’re keeping it simple – these are the seven areas that Zee Feed readers are most affected by and passionate about. To be honest, this year’s budget is neither here nor there for young people; the focus on mental health and health in general is great, but other financial benefits are more targeted.
Before you get to the details, a few notes:
- The budget is basically a proposal – the policies and amounts are not locked in yet, and will still need to be voted on and passed through Parliament. They’re not guaranteed!
- The Coalition has branded this a ‘budget for women’, but most of the ‘women’s’ money comes from childcare funding – which benefits dads as much as mums.
- Frydenberg was proud to announce the unemployment rate is at 5.6% – much lower than it was expected to be due to the pandemic. But the underemployment rate (people who want more work) is at almost 8%. It’s those figures combined that paint a clearer picture of the job market in Australia.
Tax
What’s been promised: A repeat of last year’s tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners (anyone earning up to $126,000) – individuals will get $1080 back, and dual-income couples $2160, in their tax return. This is not a permanent measure though, it applies to this year only.
What does this mean? This is being treated as an economic stimulus – the government is giving you some extra cash because they want you to spend it, injecting that money back into the economy.
Climate Change, Energy & Environment
What’s been promised: Not a lot at all.
$58.6m is allocated to funding gas projects and over $1.6b to hydrogen and carbon capture projects (all were previously announced). There is no additional investment in this budget for renewable technology, clean energy or electric vehicles. Oil refineries are also receiving money for ‘production and upgrades’ but the government is not disclosing how much – apparently this is not not information the public should be allowed to have?
The 2021 federal budget also includes (previously announced) $209m to create the Australian Climate Service, a science-based agency that will oversee our response to climate-related emergencies and disasters, and $100m for ocean conservation projects.
What does this mean? It’s unsurprising – the Liberal Party is once again showing that, under their leadership, Australia will be left behind on climate action. This will have future environmental and economic impacts. In his speech, Frydenberg said that we would reach net zero “preferably” before 2050 and that the country is “on track” to beat our 2030 emissions target… a claim that is heavily disputed.
In the middle of a climate crisis, the Budget looks set to give public money to new coal and gas.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) May 11, 2021
This Budget will make the climate and environment crisis worse.
Superannuation
What’s been promised: Among other changes relevant for older workers, the government has removed the $450 per month minimum wage threshold for superannuation payments.
What does this mean? Going forward, your employer must pay super no matter how low your monthly wage is. This is a win for part-time and low wage workers – who are more likely to be women. It will have a long-term positive effect and will help close the retirement inequality gap (as this was one of the reasons women end up with 35% less super on average than men!)
Jobs & Education
What’s been promised: JobTrainer (from last year’s budget) will be extended until the end of 2022, with an additional $500m for training courses. The courses will be focused on areas where Australian needs more workers – including the aged care sector – and according to the government will fund 163,000 courses.
The Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program will also be extended until March 2022 with another $2.7b. This program works by paying a business up to 50% of a new apprentice’s salary, to encourage businesses to hire them – it is expected to fund up to 170,000 new apprentices.
Almost $490m will go to two youth employment services: Transition to Work and the National Careers Institute.
What does this mean? The focus is on trades and non-tertiary careers – if you don’t fall into the specific sectors the government wants to stimulate, it’s a pretty ‘meh’ budget.
Childcare is not a ‘win’ for women
— Amy Remeikis (@AmyRemeikis) May 11, 2021
Spending over 10 years is make believe (too many elections in between to be real)
Resource prices fluctuate
Wage growth expectations are not based in reality.
Govt debt doesn’t matter.
That’s it. That’s the budget. See you in 7ish hrs
Mental Health & Health
What’s been promised: A lot. A welcome $2.3b over the next four years will be allocated to mental health services: suicide prevention, digital services, training for nurses and psychologists, services dedicated to vulnerable communities, and lots of money going to Headspace.
The government has been noisy about this being a ‘budget for women’, but a lot of that comes from some spending on health issues that affect mostly (but not exclusively) women: eating disorders, pelvic pain and endometriosis, to name a few.
Another $1.9b will go to funding Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination plan, which has so far been rolled out incredibly inefficiently. One interesting item is the development of an mRNA development facility in Australia – we are not currently able to develop mRNA vaccines (like the Pfizer vaccine) locally, so the government wants to fund one… but won’t say how much it will cost.
The government said they will provide an additional $13.2b to the NDIS but it’s not quite the whole truth. Most of this was included in last year’s budget – they’ve added $7b in new money, and even that isn’t really ‘extra’. It’s simply future planning in-line with current funding trends for the NDIS. Given the government has also floated plans to restrict access to NDIS funds, it’s hard to know whether or not this funding will help where it’s really needed.
What does this mean? Getting mental health support will continue to get easier for most people, but if you have other health issues it’s a mixed bag.
Property & First Home Buyers
What’s been promised: 10,000 additional places on the New Home Guarantee scheme, which lets people either buy or build their first home with only 5% deposit. The First Home Super Save Scheme (which lets you save for a house deposit within your super account) will be expanded, increasing the limit from $30,000 to $50,000.
The 2021 federal budget also lowers the minimum age of the ‘downsizers’ program. Introduced in 2017, the program encourages retirees to sell their bigger homes by allowing them to contribute up to $300,000 (per person) to their super tax free, in the hopes that this will free up houses for younger families. It was previously only open to those aged 65 and over – now anyone from the age of 60 can take part.
What does this mean? Overall, these measures will help only a small percentage of first home buyers. The proposed policies will not address the bigger issue: high house prices.
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
What’s been promised: $261m to fund domestic and sexual violence prevention programs in partnership with each state government; and $164m in a new grants system for women fleeing domestic violence. The new program will be trialled for the next two years, with victims able to receive up to $1500 in cash and $3500 worth of goods or bill payments.
A lot of funding is also going towards the legal system, specifically legal assistance services and reforming the family law courts.
An additional $10m will be spent over the next two years on the criminal justice response to sexual assault, which is neither here nor there. $90m will be spent on ‘consent education’ – but it’s not yet clear what these programs will be (remember: this government gave nearly $4m to the people who made those milkshake consent videos).
The Coalition is finally doing something with the Respect@Work report from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, allocating just over $20m to start implementing the recommendations.
What does this mean? More support for domestic and family violence is a good thing, but we are still not seeing a true focus on addressing the causes of this gendered violence. Still, the funding allocated in the 2021 federal budget is the result of thousands of Australians (women and men alike) insisting that the government address these issues. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.
