Securing the future

Boosting savings

The Government will provide a 50 per cent tax discount on up to $1,000 of interest, including interest earned on deposits, bonds, debentures and annuity products. The discount is expected to benefit around 5.7 million taxpayers in 2011‑12.

The Government will gradually increase the Superannuation Guarantee to 12 per cent, improving the retirement incomes of some 8.4 million Australians.

To improve fairness in superannuation the Government will provide a contribution of up to $500 for workers with incomes up to $37,000.

Better health and hospitals

This Budget provides $2.2 billion of new funding to support the National Health and Hospitals Network. This new funding includes:

• $417 million for better after hours access to GPs and to establish Medicare Locals across the country
• $355 million to increase GP Super Clinics and upgrade facilities
• $523 million investment in Australia's nursing workforce
• $467 million to introduce Individual Electronic Health Records.

Maintaining fiscal discipline

All of the investments in this Budget are fully funded within the strict confines of a responsible fiscal strategy, which will see us return to surplus three years ahead of schedule without raising tax to GDP above the level we inherited.

Once the budget returns to surplus, and while the economy is growing at or above trend, the Government will maintain expenditure restraint by retaining a 2 per cent annual cap on real spending growth, on average, until the budget surplus is at least 1 per cent of GDP.