Investing in Australia's Future (Continued)
Sharing the benefits of a growing economy
DisabilityCare Australia
The Government will provide more than $14 billion in new funding over seven years from 2012‑13 to roll out DisabilityCare Australia across the country by July 2019. DisabilityCare Australia, the national disability insurance scheme, will provide people with significant and permanent disability with reasonable and necessary support over their lifetimes, and more choice and control over how their support is delivered. As well as improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability, their families and carers, this reform will create opportunities for many of those people to participate more fully in the community and in the economy.
Better quality health and aged care
Since 2007, the Government has made significant investments in the healthcare system and undertaken a series of fundamental reforms to drive better quality healthcare for all Australians.
The Government established the Health and Hospitals Fund (HHF) in 2009 to invest $5 billion in major health infrastructure programs to make strategic investments that underpin significant improvements in efficiency, access and outcomes in healthcare. One priority of the HHF has been cancer centres and health infrastructure in regional areas.
In 2011, the Government and all states and territories signed the National Health Reform Agreement to increase accountability and transparency, reduce waste and waiting times, and continue to ensure future generations enjoy world‑class patient care. Under this agreement the Commonwealth will share the burden of funding growth in the costs of providing public hospital services, easing the pressure on public hospitals and state budgets. The agreement guarantees that hospitals will receive a minimum of $16.4 billion in additional Commonwealth funding from 2014‑15 to 2019‑20 than would otherwise have been received.
In 2011, the Government made mental health a national priority by investing $2.2 billion over five years in mental health reform to deliver additional services, a greater focus on prevention and early intervention, and a better integrated system.
The Government announced a $4.1 billion dental health reform package in 2012 to improve access to dental services and boost the dental workforce, including $2.7 billion for a Child Dental Benefits Scheme (Grow up Smiling).
In 2012, the Government unveiled the Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package with $3.7 billion over five years to provide more support and care in the home, better access to residential care and strengthen the aged care workforce.
The Government has also invested almost $1.5 billion over four years in new listings and amendments to listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) since the 2013‑14 Budget.
Supporting regional communities to reach their full potential
The Government has worked closely with local communities to support better economic, social and environmental outcomes for Australia's regional communities, as well as to develop region‑specific solutions for communities in transition. This has included:
- almost $1 billion through the Regional Development Australia Fund to support specific regional, economic and community infrastructure needs;
- $2.9 billion under the Health and Hospitals Fund to improve access to essential health services for rural, regional and remote communities;
- $1.5 billion under the Remote Jobs and Communities Program to provide a more integrated and flexible approach to employment and participation services;
- approximately $400 million to support the historic Tasmanian Forests Agreement, Australia's presence in Antarctica and the development of jobs, skills and accelerated investment in key sectors of the Tasmanian economy;
- continuing the underwriting of essential air services to Norfolk Island and the Indian Ocean Territories;
- providing $4.0 million over two years from 2013‑14 for the Lord Howe Island Aerodrome Improvement Works project; and
- supporting northern Australia to realise its potential for growth by taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the Asian century and diversifying and expanding exports and services into Asian markets.
Investing in our children's future
The Government's National Quality Framework commenced on 1 January 2012 for most long day care, family day care, preschool (or kindergarten) and outside schools hours care services. The Framework aims to raise quality and to drive improvement and consistency in these services. Key initiatives include the introduction of a national legislative framework and a National Quality Standard for services. Specific requirements, such as educator qualifications and educator‑to‑child ratios, are being gradually phased in between 2012 and 2020.
The introduction of the National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in 2008 has provided nationwide data on literacy and numeracy for the first time. NAPLAN tests give parents, teachers, schools, governments and students valuable insights into how well students and schools are performing compared to their peers across Australia.
As a key element of the Government's 2009 Nation Building and Jobs Plan, $16.2 billion was provided to update school infrastructure as part of the Building the Education Revolution initiative. This initiative supported jobs during the Global Financial Crisis and will deliver ongoing benefits through improved school facilities in around 9,500 schools, supporting student achievement and bringing communities together.
Supporting Australian families
Since 2007 the Government has taken significant steps to improve and better target assistance to families, making sure assistance goes to families who need it most, when they need it most, and supporting them to participate in the workforce.
Availability of quality child care is vital to many Australian families and, since 2007, the Government has more than doubled support for child care, an increase of 115 per cent. A key part of this is the Government's improvements to the Child Care Rebate, which has been increased from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of out‑of‑pocket child care expenses, up to an increased cap of $7,500 per child per year (increased from $4,354 in July 2008).
In 2011, the Government also committed $731 million over five years to establish Australia's first Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme. Now, around 95 per cent of working women have access to paid leave (an increase from around 50 per cent) and, as of March 2013, over 280,000 families have benefitted from PPL.
The Government has also invested $2.1 billion to replace the Education Tax Refund (ETR) with the Schoolkids Bonus of $410 per year for primary school students and $820 per year for secondary school students. The Schoolkids Bonus is paid directly to all eligible FTB‑A families as an automatic payment rather than a tax refund, providing more flexible and timely assistance.
From 1 January 2012, the Government also increased FTB‑A for dependent teenagers in full‑time secondary school by up to $4,208 a year for 16 and 17‑year olds, and up to $3,741 a year for 18 and 19‑year olds, recognising the higher costs of older children and helping families to support their teenagers to stay in school.
Since 2008, the Australian Government has invested $31 billion to make housing more affordable and assist people to move out of homelessness, the largest single investment in housing and homelessness in Australian history. As part of this, the Government has directly contributed to the construction of one in every 20 new homes since 2008, through programs such as the Social Housing Initiative, the Housing Affordability Fund, the Building Better Regional Cities program, and the National Rental Affordability Scheme.
Australians value a fair society that rewards hard work and provides opportunity for all Australians. The Government has taken steps to increase the reward for effort and encourage workforce participation through successive rounds of tax cuts.
From 1 July 2012, the tax free threshold has more than tripled from $6,000 to $18,200, the largest increase in Australia's history. Together with the Low Income Tax Offset, this reform has increased the effective tax free threshold to $20,542 which means people with annual taxable income below this threshold will no longer pay any tax or Medicare Levy on that income. As a result, tax time will be made simpler, with up to one million taxpayers no longer needing to lodge a tax return.
All taxpayers with incomes up to $80,000 received a tax cut in 2012‑13, with around 60 per cent of taxpayers getting a tax cut of at least $300. Many part‑time workers, including many women, will receive a tax cut of up to $600, further encouraging workforce participation. These tax cuts build on the three previous rounds of tax cuts delivered by the Government since 2008, worth $47 billion, which have benefitted all Australian taxpayers.
Reforms to retirement incomes
Australians are living longer and they need to feel that the retirement incomes system is fair and sustainable. Since 2007, the Government has undertaken important reforms to ensure that all Australians can enjoy a dignified and assured retirement.
The Government's 2009 Secure and Sustainable Pension Reforms provided the largest single increase in the age pension in its 100‑year history and improved indexation arrangements for the base pension to better reflect changes in pensioners' living costs.
We also need to do more to lift private retirement savings. In the long term, the most significant reform is the gradual increase in the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate from 9 per cent of wages in 2012‑13 to 12 per cent of wages in 2019‑20. This will boost the retirement savings of an estimated 8.6 million Australians.
In addition, the Government has acted to boost the superannuation savings of 3.6 million workers who earn up to $37,000, by cutting the contributions tax on SG contribution from 15 per cent to zero and placing the money into their superannuation accounts. This measure commenced on 1 July 2012 and the first of these payments will be made in the next few months. The reform will benefit 3.6 million workers, including sales assistants, cleaners, electricians and child care workers.
To ensure that members who do not choose a particular fund have a simple, low‑cost default superannuation option, the Government has introduced MySuper products, which authorised funds have been able to offer from 1 July 2013. Other measures will help older workers continue to save for their retirement by increasing the cap on concessional contributions for older Australians, making excess contributions tax fairer and removing the maximum age limit on receiving the Superannuation Guarantee. These long‑term reforms will ensure that the superannuation system continues to support Australians' retirement incomes as our population ages.
The Government has announced it will establish a Super Council to ensure any future changes to superannuation are consistent with an agreed Charter of Superannuation Adequacy and Sustainability. The Charter will be legislated and include a commitment to a five year moratorium on changes to superannuation tax policy.
Note: Where possible, Budget documents are available in HTML and for downloading in Portable Document Format(PDF). If you require further information on any of the tables or charts on this website, please contact The Treasury.
