The 2024-25 ACT Budget, released this afternoon, delivers more public health services; provides targeted cost of living relief; invests in improving housing choice, access, and affordability; and builds the infrastructure Canberra needs as it grows, Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced.

The biggest expenditure is health, which accounts for nearly one-third of the budget, Mr Barr said, followed by education:

• Health: $2.6 billion (32 per cent)
• Education: $1.8 billion (22 per cent)
• Access Canberra and government services: $666 million (8 per cent)
• Community services: $653 million (8 per cent)
• City services: $570 million (7 per cent)
• Emergency services and policing: $454 million (5 per cent)
• Justice: $373 million (5 per cent)
• Transport: $327 million (4 per cent)
• Housing: $295 million (4 per cent)
• Environment, sustainable development and climate change: $229 million (3 per cent)
• Economic development, tourism, sports and arts: $167 million (2 per cent)

The budget, Mr Barr said, is the result of the most extensive budget consultation ever undertaken in the ACT: more than 1,700 participants were surveyed, and nearly 100 stakeholder groups submitted proposals and suggestions.

Economy

The Budget states that the ACT led the country in economic growth over the decade to 2022-23: real Gross State Product (the value of all goods and services produced within the ACT, the equivalent of Gross Domestic Product) grew at 3.5 per cent per annum, compared to 2.4 per cent nationally.

Mr Barr warned that while the ACT’s economy is on track for a thirty fourth year of consecutive growth, the rate of growth will be slower this year as the ACT faces short-term economic challenges, and the national economic outlook is ‘softening’ (slowing down).

Nevertheless, Mr Barr said he was optimistic that future household consumption increases would be spent in Canberra businesses. “Our strong labour market, public demand, wages growth and population growth will continue to underpin our economic activity.”

“Despite rising costs of service delivery and construction costs, the Territory’s financial position remains strong,” Mr Barr said.

“The Budget outlines a sensible and sustainable pathway for a balanced Budget.

“The Budget’s Headline Net Operating Balance position is forecast to improve each year and will return to balance over the forward estimates, while the operating cash balance also continues to improve across the same period.”

Canberra Liberals

“I think every Canberran has every right to be disappointed in this budget,” opposition leader Elizabeth Lee said. “Andrew Barr spent two weeks and months talking about how this budget would provide real cost-of-living relief for all Canberrans – and what we have seen in this budget is more pain to come for so many Canberrans.”

Annual interest repayments alone would cost Canberrans $5,000 every year, while the city was “looking down the barrel” at inter-generational debt, as Canberrans repaid $20 billion in total borrowings – an interest repayment of almost $1 billion a year, as much as Canberra Hospital cost.

“Andrew Barr has spent over a decade increasing rates and taxes at a rapid rate to the point where many Canberrans are struggling to pay the bills,” Ms Lee said.

“Since embarking on his tax agenda, Canberrans’ rates have almost tripled and despite collecting more in taxes than ever before, Andrew Barr continually fails to deliver on the promises he makes to Canberrans.

“For the Treasurer to make grand announcements that this would be a cost-of-living budget and then to deliver little to no relief for the majority of Canberrans just goes to show this Labor-Greens Government is out touch and out of ideas.”

Health and community wellbeing

The budget includes $920 million for health care, including $700 million in public health care, $131 million to improve Canberra’s health infrastructure, $78 million for better care in the community, and $10.5 million to expand Mental Health Services.

Investments include constructing the new North Canberra Hospital; the second phase of the Canberra Hospital Master Plan; two community health centres in North Gungahlin and the Inner South, and designing an other centre in West Belconnen; more than 137 new nurses and midwives; additional surgeries and support for maternity and neonatology services; implementing euthanasia; and funding the second Police, Ambulance and Clinician Early Response (PACER) team.

Education

The budget includes $100 million for education and skills, including $41 million for skills development; $37 million for public education and early years; and $22 million for new and improved schools.

Investments include early childhood teacher registration; reducing workload pressures for teachers; refurbishing school gymnasiums and rooves; the Future of Education Fund for disadvantaged families; the HeadStart apprenticeship program; breakfast and lunches at five schools; equipment for CIT Woden; and literacy and numeracy programs.

Jobs and business growth

The budget includes $36 million to boost Canberra’s visitor economy and further economic development priorities. This includes night-time economy reforms; a new Cricket Partnership Agreement for 2024-2026 with Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW; and a one-year Performance Partnership Agreement with ACT Brumbies and hosting the British and Irish Lions tour match.

Cost of living

The budget has a particular emphasis on cost-of-living support, as many “are experiencing significant financial hardship” and “doing it tough”, Mr Barr said.

Cost-of-living measures include increasing the Electricity, Water and Gas Rebate by $50, to $800 (approximately 43,800 households); a one-off payment of $250 for apprentices and trainees; rebates of up to 50 per cent for pensioners on their general rates (capped at $750) and a $98 rebate for the Police, Fire and Emergency Services Levy; full motor vehicle registration concessions for all eligible recipients (approximately 66,750 registrations); extending the Rental Relief Fund; increasing access to stamp duty concessions for first homebuyers; increasing the Future of Education Equity Fund in 2024; increasing the value of vouchers available through the Utilities Hardship Fund; additional funding for community organisations to deliver essential services to vulnerable Canberrans; increasing funding support for emergency material and financial aid programs and food relief services; increasing assistance through the Taxi Subsidy Scheme; and raising the Funeral Assistance Scheme asset threshold for eligible recipients from $2,000 to $8,000.

Housing

The budget includes $285 million for housing and homes, including $118 million for social housing assistance, $87 million for affordable rental housing and home ownership, and $80 million for housing choice and quality.

This includes a mix of immediate financial relief measures and increasing social housing stock: the Rent Relief Fund to provide up to four weeks’ rent to low-income private renters in rental stress or financial hardship; a homelessness shelter at CIT Woden Campus; repairs, maintenance and upgrades of public housing stock as well as tenancy services; expanding specialist homelessness service capacity, to respond to increased demand for homelessness services in the ACT; increasing the Home Buyer Concession Scheme income eligibility threshold from $170,000 to $250,000 and temporarily extending off-the-plan duty concessions to properties up to $1 million.

Community support

The budget includes $85 million for community support, social inclusion, justice and safety. This includes measures for youth justice, child and youth protection, early childhood services; sexual violence; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including reducing the overrepresentation of First Nations people in the ACT criminal justice system; short-term accommodation and wraparound services for those leaving prison; additional support for the ACT’s community-based legal assistance sector; and for people with a disability.

Environment, climate, transport

The budget includes $273 million to support the environment and climate action, and $71 million for transport. Measures include the electrification of all feasible community and public housing by 2030; a regulatory framework for the electricity network; phasing out gas appliances; water efficiency; active travel improvements; electrifying vulnerable households; planting trees; roads; and Light Rail Stage 2.

Infrastructure, arts and culture

The budget includes $76 million for community infrastructure, venues and events, sports, arts and culture. This includes the Phillip District Enclosed Oval; Stage 1 of the Stromlo Forest Park District Playing Fields; designing for a new or expanded Canberra Stadium, a new Convention and Entertainment Centre, a reopened Telstra Tower, a new Manuka Oval Eastern Grandstand Project, EPIC and Canberra City Pool; the National Arboretum Canberra; UC Stromlo Forest Park; GIO Stadium; and Manuka Oval; the expansion of the Belconnen Basketball Stadium and redevelopment of the Canberra Theatre; upgrades to community arts, cultural and heritage facilities; Canberra’s arts organisations.