🏆Winners
1. Low-to-Middle Income Households
- Tax Cuts:
- From 1 July 2026, the 16% income tax rate drops to 15%, and further to 14% from July 2027.
- A person earning $79,000/year will save $268 in 2026–27, and $536/year from 2027–28.
- Example: A family with two working adults earning $70k and $50k will save around $800–900 annually by 2027.
- Energy Bill Relief:
- $150 electricity rebate for every household until December 2025.
- Small businesses get $325 rebate — useful for migrant-run takeaways, grocers, and salons.
- Healthcare Access:
- Expansion of bulk billing, with a $7.9 billion investment.
- 9 in 10 GP visits to be free by 2030 — helpful for South Asian families managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
- PBS Medicine Cost Cut:
- Co-payments drop from $31.60 to $25 from January 2026.
- Families managing chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, cholesterol) save $300–$500+ a year.
2. Students and Graduates
- 20% Student Debt Forgiveness:
- Applies immediately to around 3 million Australians.
- Example: A graduate with $25,000 in HELP debt will have $5,000 wiped off this year.
- Fairer Repayment Thresholds:
- Loan repayment starts at $67,000 (was $54,435), leaving more money in young professionals’ pockets.
3. Women
- $793 million toward women’s health (contraceptives, endometriosis, menopause support).
- Wage support for female-dominated sectors:
- Aged care workers: $2.6 billion for wage increases.
- Early childhood workers: $3.6 billion funding for higher wages and job security.
4. Housing Support
- Help to Buy Scheme:
- Government takes up to 40% equity, reducing deposit/mortgage requirements.
- Example: A $700,000 apartment purchase needs only $35,000 deposit instead of $70,000.
- 18,000 new social/affordable homes through the Housing Australia Future Fund.
- Commonwealth Rent Assistance increase by 45%, helping around 1 million households.
5. Multicultural Communities
- Workforce Support:
- Many South Asian Australians work in aged care, transport, and disability services — all receive budget boosts through better pay and training incentives.
- Construction apprenticeship incentive: Up to $10,000 per person, useful for migrants in trades.
❌ Losers
1. Small Business (Broadly)
- No change in corporate tax rates:
- Large businesses continue to pay 30%, small businesses 25%.
- No new deductions or tax offsets — just modest energy rebates.
- Example: A South Asian family-owned café with 5 employees will get a $325 energy rebate, but no payroll tax relief or rent assistance.
2. High-Cost City Homebuyers
- No reform of planning laws or local zoning.
- No action to streamline development approvals.
- Limited measures to address the housing supply bottleneck, especially in cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
3. Temporary Migrants & International Students
- Most budget measures target citizens or permanent residents.
- International students and temporary workers, who make up a large portion of South Asian migrants, see no direct benefits from tax cuts or energy relief.
4. Climate Advocates
- While $22.7 billion is allocated to green energy and critical minerals over the next decade:
- Budget lacks short-term acceleration of emissions reduction.
- No new incentives for households to adopt solar or EVs in 2025–26.
5. Migrant Communities
- No direct funding for multilingual or culturally safe services in healthcare or aged care.
- No mention of migration reform, faster visa processing, or settlement support.
- No new support for ethnic small business resilience, despite inflation pressures and cost-of-living impacts.
