Breaking down the 2019 Federal Budget by the numbers

Cannings Purple 3 Apr 2019
4 mins
2019 Federal Budget Breakdown

Having already taken a look at what the 2019 Federal Budget means to WA, here’s a snapshot of some of the big-picture figures across the country.

Infrastructure spending

Western Australia will receive an additional $1.6 billion for priority regional and urban road and rail.

We have been advised that the federal government will be consulting with state and local governments, as well as stakeholders to identify priority projects along each corridor.

Priority regional and urban transport infrastructure

An additional $932.6 million from 2019‑20 for Western Australia. The funding includes:

  • an additional $348.5 million for Tonkin Highway upgrades;
  • $207.5 million for the Oats Street, Welshpool Road and Mint Street Level Crossing Removals;
  • $140.0 million for the Albany Ring Road;
  • an additional $121.6 million for the Bunbury Outer Ring Road; and
  • $115.0 million for the upgrade of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge.

Roads of Strategic Importance

$535 million to specific projects in Western Australia, including:

  • $248 million for the Karratha to Tom Price corridor;
  • $75 million for the Alice Springs to Halls Creek corridor;
  • $70 million for the Newman to Katherine corridor;
  • $70 million for the Wheatbelt Secondary Freight Network;
  • $50 million for the Port Augusta to Perth corridor; and
  • $22 million for the Pinjarra Heavy Haulage Deviation.

Urban Congestion Fund

An allocation of $121.8 million to specific projects

  • $50 million for the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways;
  • $20 million for the Lloyd Street Extension, Hazelmere;
  • $16 million for Mandurah Station Parking Bays;
  • $13.3 million for Abernathy Road, Kewdale;
  • $10 million for Lakelands Station; and
  • $10 million for Thomas and Nicholson Road, Oakford.

Hospitals

Some extra funding has been awarded to WA hospitals, with the Government providing $28 million over five years to St John Ambulances to trial urgent care centres in Western Australia and $25 million to upgrade the Peel Health Campus in Western Australia.

Tax Cuts

  • Immediate tax cuts for low- and middle‑income earners of up to $1,080 per annum for singles or up to $2,160 for dual income families
  • Lowering the 32.5 per cent rate to 30 per cent in 2024-25, ensuring a projected 94 per cent of taxpayers will pay a marginal tax rate of no more than 30 per cent
  • Increasing the instant asset write-off threshold to $30,000 and expanding access to medium‑sized businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million. Around 3.4 million businesses will be eligible
  • Fast-tracking the company tax rate cut to 25 per cent for small and medium‑sized companies with an annual turnover of less than $50 million and increases to the unincorporated small business tax discount rate.

Industry incentives

  • Additional cuts to the R&D tax incentive of a further $1.35 billion over the budget forward estimates. The R&D incentive scheme was expected to grow to $2.69 billion from $2.37 billion over the next four years, however the latest forecasts suggest the cost of the scheme will be cut to $1.97 billion this financial year, and then hover between $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion over the forward estimates
  • Cuts to the Growing Business Investment fund from $350 million to $172 million over the forwards, due to a reduced demand for government assistance in the manufacturing sector
  • An additional $49 million in savings found from “industry efficiencies” in the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and the Industry Growth Centres Initiative.   

Education

Preschool funding

  • $453 million nationally to extend pre-school education through the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education until the end of 2020 enabling 350,000 children to receive 15 hours of quality early learning per week in the year before school.

Schools funding

  • $292 billion nationally in total school recurrent funding from 2019 to 2029. Recurrent annual funding for schools will grow from $19.9 billion in 2019 to $32.4 billion in 2029
  • $30.2 million in 2019‑20 to schools under the Local School Community Fund, of which every federal electorate across the country will be offered $200,000 in “local school community” money.

Universities

  • $17.7 billion nationally for the university sector in 2019. This is projected to grow to more than $20 billion by 2024
  • $93.7 million over four years from 2019‑20 for scholarships for students to study at a regional campus of a university or vocational education training provider.

Skills and Training Package

  • $525 million nationally over five years to reform Vocational Education and boost apprenticeships
  • 80,000 new apprenticeships in industries with skills shortages
  • Double incentive payments to employers to $8,000 per placement, apprentices eligible for $2,000.

Health

  • $80 billion nationally for better access to life-changing equipment, services and medicines
  • $528 million for a Royal Commission into the mistreatment of people with disability, including counselling and support
  • $160 million for research to improve the health of Indigenous Australians
  • $331 million for new and revised listings on the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme, including 2000 new medicines, such as the lifesaving leukaemia drug, Bes­ponsa, which would reduce its cost from $120,000 to as low as $6.50
  • $461 million on youth mental health and suicide prevention strategy.

Aged care

  • $725 million for 10,000 new home care packages
  • One-off Energy Assistance Payment for pensioners of $75 for singles, $125 for couples
  • $84 million for carers to leave a loved one in safe hands and take a break.

Environment

  • $3.5 billion Climate Solutions Package (previously emissions reduction fund) — $2 billion of which will go to practical emission reduction activities, working with farmers and Indigenous communities
  • $100 million Environment Restoration Fund to deliver large-scale environmental projects.

Jennifer Kirk is an Associate Director in Cannings Purple’s Government Relations team and spent more than seven years working for the Commonwealth government, including leading stakeholder and regional engagement on important economy policy reform during her time in the Treasury Perth office. If you need help mapping out your pre-election engagement, Contact Jennifer.

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