Well, another budget has been and gone. Treasurer Wayne Swan described it as having been built on their firmest convictions, and being developed in order to take full advantage of the seismic shift in global economic power towards Asia. He called this, in fact, the Asian Century.
The public has been conditioned over the last few weeks to expect a “tough-love” budget, but it was perhaps not so much tough love as simply maintaining the status quo. In fact the government has displayed exactly that attitude which has been annoying our retailers this year: caution.
For parents, an overview of the main budget initiatives are as follows:
Workforce Participation
Teenage Parents – furthering study: The government is keen to increase the skills of teenage parents and is providing $80 million for additional training places. This does, of course, come with a catch and parents will be expected to meet stricter work or training requirements in order to maintain their parenting payments. Teenage parents will be required to return to school and complete year 12 after their child turns one and the government will spend $47 million trialling this new initiative. You can read more about it on the Prime Minister’s blog here.
Single Parents – increasing workforce participation: The government also wants to encourage single parents back into the workforce and is providing $103 million to help single parents prepare for work when their youngest child starts school. They will also overhaul the income test for single parents so that parents can earn more income before their parenting benefits are cut back. You can find more information on the Centrelink website.
Dependent spouses – reducing tax offset: Also to encourage workforce participation, the government is phasing out the Dependent Spouse Tax Offset from 1st July, starting with couples aged under forty (where a dependent spouse was born on or after 1st July 1971) . The Dependent Spouse Tax Offset is currently an amount of up to $2,243 per annum and you can find out more details about the offset on the taxation website.
Childcare rebate changes – frequency of payment: The government will give eligible parents the opportunity to claim their childcare rebate weekly or fortnightly, rather than quarterly, easing the upfront cost of childcare. You can find out more information on the human services website.
Education
Bonuses for teachers - The budget allowed for $425 million to reward high performing teachers in the form of bonuses, from 2014 onwards.
Parents of teenagers – additional FTB: From January 1st, 2012 the government is also extending Family Tax Benefit Part A (at a cost of $772 million) to teenagers up to nineteen years old who are in school or vocational training programs. That is potentially up to an extra $4200 a year for each eligible teenager.
Education tax refund additions - The education tax refund is being extended to cover school uniforms. Check your eligibility on the education tax refund website.
Reduction in HECS discount - A savings measure that was announced prior to the budget is the halving of the 20% discount in university fees that students receive if they pay upfront. You can find out more information on the Going to Uni website.
Equal opportunities - $200 million has been allocated to support disabled school students
School chaplains - $222 million has been allocated to extend National School Chaplaincy program
Family tax benefit
FTB(A) Payment Advances - The government will allow parents to access payment advances of up to $1,000 on their Family Tax Benefit Part A to meet unexpected family expenses.
Extending the freeze - As a cost-cutting measure though, the government has extended the freeze on the higher income limits for family payments for three more years (to July 2014). This freeze affects payments such as Family Tax Benefit and paid parental leave. You can calculate your eligibility for these payments on the Centrelink website.
Pausing indexation - The government is also pausing indexation of Family Tax Benefit supplements (which are normally indexed at CPI rate) for two years.
Reduction of Family Tax Benefit cutoff - The government has decided to limit the eligibility for Family Tax Benefit Part A to children up to the age of 21, a reduction from age 24, with an estimated saving of $29 million over four years. You can find out more information on the Family Assist website.
Overall, there were few surprises in this year’s budget. It was more a case of slow and steady. As the Treasurer commented, 2011 has been a difficult year for many Australians. And the government has, in his words: “made the necessary decisions to rebuild their communities.”
Paid paternity leave
The Federal Goverment paid paternity leave program is being postponed from 1 July to 1 January, saving the Commonwealth $147 million in the short-term. The paternity leave program scheme offered new father's the chance to receive two weeks paid leave at the national minimum wage.
Readers: What was your opinion of the budget. How will it affect you personally? Comment on the EB forums.
