Budget 2021 Recap: Everything You Need To Know About The Federal Budget

Josh Frydenberg - Federal Budget
More than $50 billion of new spending was announced on Tuesday, but what is it going to do?

Budget 2021 Recap: Everything You Need To Know About The Federal Budget

More than $50 billion of new spending was announced on Tuesday, but what is it going to do?
Josh Frydenberg - Federal Budget
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Federal Budget 2021 – More than $50 billion of new spending was announced on Tuesday, but what is it going to do?

The Federal Budget is referred to as Christmas for political nerds. Thousands of pages of policies, departmental spending and clues about what the next year will look like.

But for the rest of us, it’s a bit dull and also a bit much. Ok, so net debt will increase to $617.5 billion this year. Ok, so it will be almost $1 trillion by 2025. So what?

Well, Budget 2021 had a range of measures that will benefit you if you’re a parent, an old person, a woman, a person with disabilities and really just a regular taxpayer.

So, what’s it all mean?

Tax Cut

You get a tax break and you get a tax break! EVERYBODY GETS A TAX BREAK!
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg splashed some cash to deliver tax cuts to low and middle-income earners. Some cash being $7.8 billion in 2021/22.

That will put $1,080 into the pockets of singles earning under $90,000 and $2,160 for dual-income couples earning less than $90,00 each. 

Mental Health

The Government announced a $2.3 billion package that will benefit all Australians, from the zero to 12-year-olds, to 12 to 25-year-olds, and the wider population.

This includes $54 million that will be put into establishing 15 child mental health and wellbeing hubs to support kids under 12 years old.

 More than $46.6 million will be put towards helping parents identify emerging emotional difficulties early on in their children. 

The Commonwealth will also for the first time fund aftercare for every Australian discharged from hospital following a suicide attempt, which will cost $158.6 million.

Childcare and preschool

One for the parents out there, or at least the parents with one child.

The Government announced a $1.7 billion childcare funding package, which will increase the Child Care Subsidy.

Parents who already have one child will have 95 per cent of their expenses paid for any additional children put into child care.  

It means about 250,000 families will be better off by about $2,200 on average per year.

The cap on the subsidy – which was set at $10,560 for those earning above $189,290 – will be removed.

About $2 billion will also be pumped into the preschooling sector, which will support 15 hours of learning each week for children the year before they start school.

The elderly

The aged care sector will be getting a massive $17.7 billion injection to try to fix some of the many issues identified over the years.

The money will make sure residents get 200 minutes of face-to-face care each day, which will include 40 minutes from a registered nurse.

About 80,000 new home-care packages will also be funded over the next two years.

A further $440 million will go towards increasing respite services for those looking after elderly relatives.

On the retirement front, people aged over 60 will be able to make a one-off contribution of up to $300,000 per person to their super when they sell their home.

Women

There was a whole section in this year’s Budget for women.

No surprises there given the run in the Coalition have had with criticism about their “women problem” in recent months. 

The Budget put the $1.7 childcare spend under its $3.4 “women’s budget”, which was controversial (dad’s can be carers too!)

More than $1.1 billion was also put towards women’s safety, including emergency accommodation, legal assistance, counselling and cash payments for those escaping abusive relationships.

About $351.6 million will also be spent on maternal, sexual and reproductive health, including treatment for endometriosis. 

Disability care

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is also getting a boost of $13.2 billion over four years to support 450,000 people relying on the program, including 100,000 who joined the scheme in the last year alone.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the funding would better meet the demand of Australians with disabilities.

“As the scheme reaches maturity, our focus is on ensuring its sustainability and that it continues to deliver a high-quality, essential service for those who need it,” he said in his Budget Speech.

Further Perth news on SoPerth.com.au.