Budget 2019-20: Key Portfolio Measures

2 April 2019

On this page:

Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade

$200 billion will be spent on Australia’s Defence capability over the next decade, maintaining the Government’s commitment to grow the Defence budget to two per cent of GDP by 2020‑21. As previously announced by the Government, the national migration cap will be reduced by 15 per cent to a maximum of 160,000 places. National security will be boosted through a new $571 million funding package for counter-terrorism and anti-espionage operations. The Government has also allocated new funding to minimise the harmful effects of drugs.

Key measures

  • $680 million additional funding to support the Defence portfolio and Australian soldiers deployed overseas
  • $527.9 million over five years from 2018-19 to support the work of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
  • $512.8 million for the Australian Federal Police and $58.6 million for ASIO to detect and disrupt terror threats and transnational crime
  • $337.2 million in new funding to fight the illicit drug trade, including funding for support services and rehabilitation
  • $104.5 million over four years to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission
  • $66.9 million over five years to enhance Australia’s economic and cultural engagement in the Indo-Pacific region
  • $61 million to support Australian businesses to export Australian goods and services to overseas markets
  • $50 million over three years to support the development and enhancement of nationally and regionally iconic tourism infrastructure
  • $34.8 to counter activities that seek to undermine Australia’s sovereign democratic institutions.
  • An undisclosed figure will be spent on enhancing the Government’s cyber security arrangements in relation to the 2019 Federal Election

Further Reading

Health, Families and Social Services

The Government has used the budget to demonstrate its commitment to Medicare by reducing out of pocket expenses for items listed on the MBS. The budget prioritises mental health including suicide prevention, medical research, disability services and addressing the growing need for aged care services.

Key measures

  • A $1.1 billion Strengthening Primary Care package, including increased funding for GPs to manage high needs patients, and an increase to rebates for an additional 119 GP items on the MBS, as well as improving access to diagnostic imaging
  • A $5 billion investment over ten years for the Medical Research Future Fund to support world class medical research, more clinical trials and the development of health innovations
  • Through the Home Care Packages Program an additional $282.4 million over five years for an additional 10,000 home care packages across all levels.
  • $111 million to open 30 new headspace services by 2021
  • $328 million for the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
  • $245 million to support community pharmacies, including subsiding increased Administration, Handling and Infrastructure (AHI) fees on all PBS scripts
  • The introduction of Single Touch Payroll (STP) to prevent over-payments to income support recipients who also work, resulting in a saving of $2.1 billion

Further Reading

Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities

The Government announced $100 billion in funding for major infrastructure projects and initiatives across the states and territories over the next ten years. The Budget includes a focus on very fast rail upgrades, major highway upgrades and targeted spending in suburban and regional areas.

Key measures

  • $6.1 billion to NSW priority transport infrastructure, including the first stage of the Western Sydney North South Rail Link and the M1 Pacific Motorway Extension to Raymond Terrace
  • $2 billion funding for fast-rail between Melbourne and Geelong from 2021-22
  • $2.8 billion towards priority regional and urban transport infrastructure in Victoria, including Stages 2 and 3 of the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Rail upgrade
  • $1.6 billion over the next four years for the Urban Congestion fund which supports projects to improve traffic safety and flow and the efficiency of freight routes; an investment of $3 billion in total from 2019-20
  • An additional $1 billion to the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative (ROSI) to fund works on regional roads, inter-regional and interstate highways for freight routes and other road users
  • $206.2 million from 2019-20 for round four of the Building Better Regions Fund for community infrastructure projects in regional areas
  • $71 million from 2019-20 towards the Hinkler Regional Deal funding community and transport infrastructure projects in the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay regions
  • $4 million over four years from 2018-19 for initiatives aimed at increasing female participation in aviation
  • $1.27 billion in savings by halving the 2019-20 payment to the Local Government Financial Assistance Grants

Further Reading

Communications and the Arts

The total budget allocation for the Communications and the Arts portfolio is $5.9 billion in 2019-20. Notably, the Government will be spending $4 billion to fund the two public broadcasters over three years from 2019-20.

Key measures

  • $4 billion over the next three years for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (SBS)
  • Including the pre-existing funding for Stronger Regional Connectivity Package, the Government will spend $220 million over the forward estimates to fund the Department of Communications and the Arts to support regional telecommunications improvements
  • $30.9 million will be spent over the next five years to fund the Australian live music industry
  • $22.0 million to fund the Bundanon Trust’s Masterplan development to house and display its art collection and expand its childrens education programs
  • $17.1 million will be spent over the next three years to enable Free TV Australia to provide 1,000 hours of content each year, including the pre-existing funding to Amplifying Australia’s Voice in the Pacific

Further Reading

Resources and Industry, Jobs and Small Business

The 2019-20 budget includes small business tax cuts and schemes to enable small and medium-sized business to grow. Key initiatives including access to loans and increased funding to the Australian Tax Office have been previously announced by the Treasurer.

Key measures

  • $2 billion will be provided to the Australian Business Securitisation Fund, administered by the Australian Office of Financial Management
  • $1 billion over four years will be provided to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to extend the operation of the Tax Avoidance Taskforce which has raised more than $12 billion in liabilities since its inception on 1 July 2016
  • Small and medium-sized businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will receive a tax cut to a flat rate of 27.5 per cent with the view of lowering this to 25 per cent by 2021-22
  • The instant asset write-off threshold will be increased from $25,000 to $30,000 and access will be expanded to medium-sized businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million
  • $56.4 million over three years from 2019-20 to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization to support nuclear medicine production, critical radioactive waste management and nuclear decommission activities and asset management

Further Reading

Environment and Energy, Agriculture and Water Resources

In the Agriculture and Water Resources portfolio, the Government continues to strengthen its natural disaster response funding. A new $3.9 billion Emergency Response Fund has been established as a source of financial support for potential future natural disasters. The Government has also announced two new relief funds: one for drought, and one for floods.

Environment and Energy funding sees focus particularly on reducing consumer energy prices. $284 million is being set aside for a one-off payment designed to ease the cost of consumers’ power pills ($75 for singles and $125 for couples, dependant on eligibility for social security payments), whilst $56 million is allocated for the Marinus Link interconnector.

Key measures

  • $6.3 billion in concessional loans and assistance for farmers affected by drought, including a new $5 billion Future Drought Fund to support resilience projects
  • $3.1 billion over five years for a funding package to support North Queensland’s livestock industry and associated communities to recover from the impacts of the 2019 flood event
  • A $3.5 billion Climate Solutions Package. $2 billion will be reserved for activities under the Emissions Reduction Fund, whilst $1.38 billion in equity will go towards the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project
  • $100 million for an Environmental Restoration Fund, establishing large-scale environmental projects such as waste reduction and recycling schemes
  • $34 million to expand biodiversity and stewardship practices in the agricultural sector, executed through the Agricultural Stewardship Fund
  • $29.4 million for a package of measures designed to increase Australia’s agricultural trade and export capabilities, including $6.8 million to extend the Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation program
  • $28 million for new Bureau of Meteorology rain gauges and radars to be installed in Queensland

Further Reading

 

Back to articles

Close