ACT Budget: Cost-of-living rebates
The ACT Budget will permanently increase the Electricity, Gas and Water Rebate by $50, bringing the total annual rebate to $800 for eligible low-income households; and provide up to $150 in additional electricity bill relief through the Energy Bill Relief Fund, a rebate most Canberrans will receive automatically on their electricity bills.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT Government focuses on equity and inclusion, ensuring support is directed where it’s needed most.
“While many Canberrans enjoy a high standard of living, we know that cost of living pressures are real and growing for people on low incomes.”
However, both independent MLAs and the community sector have called on the ACT Government to extend the Rent Relief Fund, which will end on 30 June.
The Fund pays up to a month’s rent for households in need, which community representatives said helps renters stabilise their housing and connect with support services. In one case, it allowed a single mother recovering from financial abuse to maintain her tenancy and her custody of her child.
Corinne Dobson, CEO of ACT Shelter, said: “The Rent Relief Fund has been a vital lifeline for renters in crisis, helping to keep a roof over people’s heads at a time of exorbitant rents and rising cost-of-living pressures. Now is not the time to be winding back targeted support for households doing it toughest.”
The ACT has the highest rate of rental stress for Commonwealth Rent Assistance recipients in Australia — more than a quarter spend half their income on rent, and half spend more than a third. Anglicare recently found that the ACT was the most unaffordable jurisdiction for low-income households, while 5,400 households need social and affordable housing, but wait up to five years for public housing.
The community sector believes the $1.7 million annual cost of the fund is modest but impactful, and that a short-term accommodation levy being introduced next month would generate $3.8 million, enough to sustain the program.
“Extending the Rent Relief Fund is the right thing to do, both morally and economically,” Thomas Emerson MLA said. “Governments have a moral obligation to ensure their citizens have access to the basic necessities of life, like food and shelter. Short of the systemic reform that’s really needed to fulfil that obligation, programs like the ACT Rent Relief Fund are required to help plug the gaps.
“The cost-of-living crisis isn’t a temporary annoyance for lower-income Canberrans; it’s destroying their quality of life. People struggling to pay rent should not be the ones forced to foot the bill for the government’s budget problems. Cutting costs by withdrawing crisis support will only increase costs downstream, exerting further pressure on already-drowning housing and homelessness services.”
The ACT Greens also warned last week that shutting down the Rent Relief Fund would leave more Canberrans turning to charities for help.
ACT Budget: Gungahlin and central Canberra
The ACT Budget also includes investments in specific regions of Canberra, following last week’s announcement about Tuggeranong.
In Gungahlin, one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, the government will prepare the Casey precinct for a health centre, community facilities, and an emergency services station; build new playground at the Amaroo shops; upgrade the Palmerston group centre shops; install new cricket nets at Bonner Oval and female-friendly changerooms at the Gungahlin Enclosed Oval (Crinigan Circle) and Harrison Oval; and put a walking and cycling path along Victoria Street in Hall.
In central Canberra, the government will upgrade the Griffith shops; put new toilets at the Red Hill and Downer shops, female-friendly changerooms in Griffith, Ainslie and Reid; commission an inner south dog park feasibility study and a concept design masterplan to renew the City Hill park; upgrade City Walk lighting and stormwater at Dickson Shops; and open a Health Centre for the Inner South in Griffith.
ACT Budget: Education support
To help families pay for the cost of education, the ACT Budget will extend funding for the Future of Education Equity Fund and the Free School Camps at Birrigai program
The Future of Education Equity Fund helps low-income families cover the costs of school, such as uniforms, books, excursions, and extracurricular activities, from preschool to college. It will be boosted by $600,000 for the 2025 school year, helping 1,000 more students.
All primary school students will be able to go on a free camp at the Birrigai Outdoor School, due to a $3.3 million investment over four years.
“Equity is at the heart of everything we do in education because all children and young people, regardless of their circumstances, deserve the support they need to achieve a good education,” education minister Yvette Berry MLA said.
Refugee Week
Refugee Week began on Sunday, and runs until Saturday 21 June. The event promotes greater awareness of refugees, the issues they face, and their contributions to the community.
Last year, the ACT Government and local organisations supported hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers, including those from Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, and Ukraine, multicultural affairs minister Michael Pettersson MLA said.
The ACT Budget will provide $200,000 for the Humanitarian Family Settlement Assistance Grants Program (administered by the Red Cross, it gives newly arrived refugees $5,000 to secure long-term accommodation and meet immediate living expenses); and $150,000 for the Humanitarian Funding Program (which supports community organisations working with refugees and asylum seekers, particularly those ineligible for other support).
