2025 Federal Budget
On Tuesday 25 March 2025, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the Federal Budget for 2025 with a range of key elements affecting people with disability. Here are the budget highlights:
NDIS & the disability sector
- $364.5 million to reform the Information Linkages and Capacity Building program (ILC). These supports will complement additional foundational supports to be co‑funded with States and Territories.
- $42.2 million to deliver the National Autism Strategy.
- In addition, $175.4 million over four years for further safeguards on fraud and compliance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Cost-of-living relief
- $1.9 billion to extend eligibility for Parenting Payment (Single) to support more single parents.
- $4.6 billion to deliver back-to-back increases to the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
- $4.9 billion to increase working age and student payments and expand eligibility for the higher rate of Jobseeker Payment for older Australians and people with an assessed partial capacity to work of 0 to 14 hours a week.
Energy Rebate for your household
- The $300 energy rebate will be extended by $150 to the end of 2025. The relief will be delivered in two $75 rebates off electricity bills to be delivered through December 31, 2025.
Tax relief for workers
- Every Australian taxpayer earning over $18,200 will get a new tax cut. For a worker earning an average of $79,000 a year the tax cut is $5.15 extra a week – and $10.30 in 2027-2028.
Housing Affordability and Support
- The Government is supporting a pipeline of 55,000 social and affordable homes through initiatives like the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and the Social Housing Accelerator.
- The Government is expanding the Help to Buy program by $800 million to support Australians to buy homes with lower deposits and smaller mortgages.
- Funding for homelessness services will be doubled to around $400 million a year. This Budget also provides $6.2 million for homelessness research, advocacy and coordination.
- $1 billion provided to the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF) to support crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and for at risk of homelessness.
Healthcare funding and access
- Access to Primary health Care
- $7.9 billion to provide more bulk billing so more people can see a GP for free.
- An additional $1.8bn will be spent on the country’s public hospitals and health services, with the funds aimed at cutting hospital waiting lists and reducing wait times in the ER.
- The federal government has also pledged to build 50 more Medicare urgent Care Clinics, bringing the total nationwide to 137. The expansion would see about four in five Australians to shortly live within a 20-minute drive of a clinic.
- Increased funding to women’s health in particular endometriosis and menopause treatments.
Medicare Levy and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- The Medicare levy low-income threshold will increase by 4.7 per cent. This means more than one million singles, families, seniors, and pensioners will continue to be exempt from paying the Medicare levy.
- From 1 January 2026, the maximum copayment will be lowered from $31.60 to $25.00 per script and remain frozen at $7.70 for pensioners.
- Several oral contraceptive pills will be available on the PBS for the first time in more than 30 years
- Additional endometriosis medications on PBS.
Employment support
- $722.8 million over four years from 2025–26 for increased support for apprentices. This includes $11million to increase the Disability Australian Apprentice Wage Support subsidy.
Education Debt Relief
- People with HELP and HECS debts will have 20% wiped from their loans.
Domestic and family violence, abuse and neglect
- $21.4 million over three years from 2025–26 to improve victim and survivor engagement with the justice system.
- To further address family, domestic, and sexual violence in First Nations communities, the Government is providing $21.8 million over two years from 2025–26 to continue the delivery of prevention, early intervention and response services.
Infrastructure
- $17.1 million to establish the Accessible Australia program to further increase inclusion through more accessible infrastructure.
Emergency and disaster response
- The Government has activated the Disaster Recovery Allowance, and the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment.
- Co‑sponsored with the states $30 million to support council clean‑up activities.
- Provided one‑off Business Continuity Payments of $10,000 to Child Care Subsidy approved services closed or partially closed for 8 days or more.
Gaps in the 2025 Federal Budget: What’s missing?
- Very little reference to disability throughout the budget.
- No mention of accessible housing.
- We welcome funding for Information Linkages and Capacity Building program (ILC) that will complement foundational supports. Further clarification is required regarding agreements with states and territories to deliver Foundational Supports.
- The lowest income earners who make less money than the $18,200 tax threshold miss out on any extra money from the government.
- There is no increase in the income support for Jobseeker and DSP payments.
- Emphasis needed on the NDIS review, Disability Royal Commission recommendations and co-design with people with disability.
- Lack of focus on:
- mental health and psychosocial disability
- disability advocacy
- disability employment
- disability specific funding for emergency and disaster responses.