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DEEP REPORT
DELIVERED 12 MAY 2026
FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS AND POLICY TEAMS

Federal Budget 2026-27: the practical guide to what changes, who pays, and who has to deliver it

A single-page long report on Chalmers' "Resilience and reform" budget: oil shock, tax and housing, NDIS, health, defence, APS delivery, reactions, agency impact, taxpayer cost, and every idea in the research file.

Underlying cash deficit

$31.5B

$2.8B better than MYEFO

Savings package

$63.8B

largest package on record

NDIS restraint

$37.8B

160,000 fewer participants by 2030

Fuel resilience

$14.8B

$10B reserve and gas reservation

Housing investment

$47B

$2B infrastructure for 65,000 homes

Defence uplift

$53B

toward 3% of GDP by 2033

Services Australia

$2.2B

service rebuild and access channels

Productivity target

$10.2B/yr

regulatory cost reduction

Overview

This budget uses the oil shock as the case for a much larger domestic reset. The government is trying to do three things at once: cushion households and business from fuel-driven inflation, rebalance tax settings away from asset income, and take a large amount of growth out of the NDIS without breaking disability support in the transition.

For government employees, the most important question is not just "what was funded?" It is "which systems now have to absorb new demand, new rules, new eligibility tests, new complaints, new data requirements and new scrutiny?"

Core implementation risk

The budget saves money by moving risk into delivery systems. If state services, assessment tools, digital identity, contact centres, local infrastructure and provider markets are not ready, the reform becomes a frontline failure.

What each taxpayer is effectively paying for

This is a simple explainer calculation: headline initiative cost divided by 13.3 million, the budget's stated number of workers receiving the Working Australians Tax Offset. It is not a literal tax bill and it does not model who pays more tax. It makes the scale legible.

Formula: initiative dollars / 13,300,000 taxpayers. Negative numbers are savings per taxpayer, not new spending.

Defence uplift

Defence - over decade

$3,985

AUKUS, fleet, cyber, Henderson and industry base

NDIS reform

Disability - over forwards

saves $2,842.11

headline budget saving, not a service uplift

Public hospitals

Health - over forwards

$1,880

new Commonwealth hospital funding envelope

Fuel resilience package

Energy - over forwards

$1,113

fuel reserve, cleaner fuels and oil-shock response

Fuel reserve

Energy - capital/reserve

$752

strategic reserve inside the broader resilience package

PBS expansion

Health - over forwards

$444

medicines access, including high-cost listings

Aged care beds and packages

Aged care - over forwards

$226

beds, packages and free personal care changes

Services Australia rebuild

Digital service - over forwards

$165

frontline service, access channels and processing capacity

Housing-enabling infrastructure

Housing - over forwards

$150

roads, drains and power to unlock around 65,000 dwellings

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

Health - over four years

$135

137 clinics made permanent

Counter-Terrorism Online Centre

Security - over forwards

$45

post-Bondi security and online extremism response

Active Transport Fund top-up

Transport - over forwards

$38

walking, cycling and local transport links

My Budget Impact calculator idea

Transparency - build cost

$0.02

example small digital build - about two cents per taxpayer

Portfolio and agency impact

Portfolio movement

Treasury

+$18,586M

tax reform, ATO delivery, ABS and housing architecture

Social Services

+$8,946M

DSS carries NDIS transition, JobSeeker status quo and foundational supports

Health, Disability and Ageing

+$7,443M

hospitals, PBS, urgent care, aged care and NDIA funding growth

Foreign Affairs and Trade

+$1,004M

Indo-Pacific aid pivot and diplomatic operating lift

Finance

+$896M

Services Australia uplift, DTA, Digital ID and external labour savings

Infrastructure and Transport

+$615M

housing infrastructure, SRL East, active transport and high speed rail

Defence

+$465M

AUKUS, cyber, submarine agency, housing and veteran services

Climate, Energy and Environment

-$2,422M

fuel resilience offset by department baseline and program timing shifts

Home Affairs

-$1,410M

department cut partly offset by AFP, ASIO and counter-terrorism uplifts

Industry, Science and Resources

-$323M

NRF and ANSTO uplifts inside a tighter departmental envelope

Department of the Treasury

Treasury

+$16.44B +11.5%

tax reform, macro forecasting, housing-tax settings and budget repair narrative

Department of Social Services

Social Services

+$8.94B +5.7%

NDIS transition, foundational supports and income-support pressure without a JobSeeker lift

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Health

+$4.44B +4.2%

public hospitals, PBS, urgent care, aged care and Thriving Kids design

National Disability Insurance Agency

Health

+$2.48B +4.7%

participant reassessment, plan-budget controls, provider registration and appeals risk

Australian Taxation Office

Treasury

+$2.18B +10.0%

negative gearing, CGT, trusts, instant deduction and worker offset administration

Department of Finance

Finance

+$1.53B +1.8%

savings discipline, APS headcount settings, consultancy controls and service rebuild

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

DFAT

+$999.0M +12.1%

ODA floor, Indo-Pacific redirect and US aid withdrawal backfill

Australian Federal Police

Home Affairs

+$204.7M +8.6%

post-Bondi security package and online counter-terrorism capability

Australian Renewable Energy Agency

DCCEEW

+$162.0M +208.6%

energy transition projects despite criticism of the broader renewables freeze

Australian Submarine Agency

Defence

+$127.1M +33.0%

AUKUS delivery, assurance and workforce pipeline

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

DCCEEW

-$2.64B -30.2%

fuel and gas policy expands while baseline/program timing contracts

Department of Home Affairs

Home Affairs

-$1.61B -17.2%

portfolio security agencies rise while the department absorbs a large baseline reduction

Portfolio drilldowns

Oil shock and macro setting

Economic resilience

mixed
$14.8B fuel package

The Iran war and Strait of Hormuz closure are the budget's permission structure: inflation peaks near 5%, growth slows to 1.75%, and the government argues reform cannot wait.

  • $10B fuel reserve and cleaner fuel program
  • fuel excise more than halved through 2026-27
  • 20% gas reservation on east-coast LNG exports from 1 July 2027
  • ACCC petrol price-gouging penalties doubled
Treasury
DCCEEW
ACCC
Infrastructure
Agriculture

Tax reform and housing

Tax, housing and intergenerational equity

upside
NG and CGT reset

The structural wager is a shift away from asset-income concessions toward labour-income relief, while using housing tax to redirect investor demand into new supply.

  • negative gearing limited to new builds for new investors from 1 July 2027
  • 50% CGT discount replaced with indexation plus 30% minimum tax rate
  • discretionary trusts taxed at 30% from 1 July 2028
  • $250 Working Australians Tax Offset and $1,000 instant deduction
  • $2B housing-enabling infrastructure intended to unlock 65,000 dwellings
Treasury
ATO
Housing Australia
Infrastructure
states and councils

Health, aged care and NDIS

Service delivery and participant transition

mixed
$25B hospitals, $37.8B NDIS savings

Health gets the largest visible service uplift, but the NDIS overhaul is the budget's sharpest delivery and legitimacy risk.

  • $25B more for public hospitals and $220B five-year envelope
  • 137 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics made permanent
  • $5.9B PBS expansion and cystic fibrosis treatment listing
  • $3B aged care beds/packages and free personal care
  • Thriving Kids and foundational supports move some disability support outside NDIS
Health
NDIA
DSS
Services Australia
state health departments

Defence, security and veterans

National security

upside
+$53B over decade

Defence is locked to a higher trajectory: 3% of GDP by 2033 under NATO methodology, with AUKUS and surface fleet delivery dominating the decade.

  • AUKUS submarines and Australian Submarine Agency uplift
  • Mogami-class frigates and Henderson precinct work
  • Australian Signals Directorate and cyber capability growth
  • $800M Royal Commission response for veterans
  • $600M Counter-Terrorism Online Centre and hate/extremism response
Defence
Australian Submarine Agency
ASD
Home Affairs
AFP
DVA

Productivity, APS and digital government

Operating model

upside
$10.2B/yr regulatory cost target

The APS rebuild continues, but the new bargain is clear: fewer external labour shortcuts, more digital reuse, and harder measurement of regulatory burden.

  • $2.2B Services Australia service rebuild
  • $654.3M Digital ID and Tell Us Once expansion
  • $2.7B 2029-30 savings from external labour and consultancy clawback
  • mandatory disclosure for consultancy contracts of $2M or more
  • National Competition Policy and single-market reforms
Finance
Services Australia
DTA
PM&C
Treasury
all agencies

Education, skills and research

Human capital

watch
Accord implementation

Education is an implementation budget: schools, universities and childcare continue on existing reform paths, while research advocates call out missing ambition.

  • Universities Accord measures continue
  • Commonwealth SRS share lifts toward 25% by 2034
  • skills recognition and VET pipelines tied to construction, care and defence needs
  • no major R&D investment target despite 1.7% of GDP warning
Education
DEWR
ARC
TEQSA
TAFE and state systems

Who is affected

Low and middle income workers

upside

Impact: tax cuts, $250 offset, $1,000 deduction

Risk: relief arrives slowly and inflation may erode it

First-home buyers and renters

upside

Impact: tax settings tilt away from established investor demand

Risk: supply response depends on planning, infrastructure and construction capacity

NDIS participants and families

risk

Impact: access lists, reassessment, plan budgets and under-8 pathways change

Risk: state alternatives may not exist when participants are moved

JobSeeker recipients

risk

Impact: no base-rate lift for the third budget in a row

Risk: cost-of-living package largely misses people without taxable income

Public hospital patients

mixed

Impact: hospital funding, PBS expansion and UCC permanence

Risk: state workforce and ramping pressures remain

Public servants

mixed

Impact: more reform delivery with consultancy restraint

Risk: capability gaps move inside agencies unless funded and sequenced

Defence industry and shipbuilding regions

upside

Impact: AUKUS, Henderson and surface fleet pipeline

Risk: skills, clearances and infrastructure timing

Property investors and discretionary trusts

risk

Impact: negative gearing, CGT and 30% trust tax changes

Risk: asset-price, rent and investment behaviour are contested

Ideas explorer (84)

Department

Size

Showing 84 of 84 ideas from `Research/budget-2026-27-analysis/ideas.csv`.

B26-001. Sunset the negative-gearing grandfather over 10 years

big

Treasury - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Reduces tax expenditure ~$15B over decade

Needed: Legislative amendment converting grandfather to 10-year taper

Achieves: Closes the half-measure that protects existing investors forever — actually rebalances asset vs labour income

Source

B26-002. Replace CGT 30% minimum tax with inflation indexation only

medium

Treasury - industry - Business Council of Australia

Money: Forgoes ~$3-5B over forwards

Needed: Amend CGT package to drop 30% floor; keep indexation

Achieves: Restores investment incentive while still taxing real (not nominal) gains

Source

B26-003. One-property cap on negative gearing

big

Treasury - union - ACTU / Sally McManus

Money: Raises ~$2B/yr more than new-builds-only

Needed: Tighter NG cap legislated alongside new-builds-only

Achieves: Limits investor accumulation to a single rental property — more aggressive intergenerational rebalance

Source

B26-004. 25% CGT discount (not 30% min) + Help to Buy expanded to 30,000 places

big

Treasury - crossbench - Senator David Pocock

Money: Help to Buy at 30k places costs ~$1.5B over forwards

Needed: Amend tax package; expand existing Help to Buy scheme

Achieves: Tilts the tax mix further toward owner-occupiers and triples shared-equity capacity

Source

B26-005. 30% CGT discount + 2.5pp cut to every marginal income tax rate

big

Treasury - crossbench - Allegra Spender MP

Money: Revenue-neutral via base broadening

Needed: Full Personal Tax White Paper architecture

Achieves: Comprehensive structural restructure rather than the budget's partial fix

Source

B26-006. Gas export windfall levy ringfenced to climate transition + bill relief

big

Treasury - political - Australian Greens / Senator Larissa Waters

Money: Raises ~$17B/yr (Greens estimate)

Needed: Levy on LNG export profits above defined threshold

Achieves: Captures the LNG boom for public benefit; funds climate spend Labor scrapped

Source

B26-007. Front-load the $250 Working Australians Tax Offset as a 2026 energy rebate

small

Treasury - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: No net cost; brings forward 2027-28 spend

Needed: Treasury amendment to pay 2027-28 offset in 2026-27 instead

Achieves: Cost-of-living relief lands NOW not in 2028 — addresses the '$4.81/week in 2028' attack

Source

B26-008. Make $1,000 instant deduction $2,000

small

Treasury - industry - ACCI / Andrew McKellar

Money: Costs ~$500M/yr

Needed: Increase no-receipts threshold

Achieves: Doubles the simplification benefit for SMEs and low-claim workers

Source

B26-009. Wealth tax on net wealth over $50M

big

Treasury - political - Australian Greens

Money: Raises ~$5-7B/yr (Greens estimate)

Needed: New annual levy on net assets above threshold

Achieves: Captures Australia's 161 billionaires; structural inequality response

Source

B26-010. Repeal Stage 3 cuts for highest earners

big

Treasury - political - Australian Greens

Money: Raises ~$15B/yr

Needed: Reverse the 2024 Stage 3 amendments above $190k

Achieves: Reduces tax inequality at the top

Source

B26-011. Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) tightening — Senate inquiry

big

Treasury - crossbench - Senator David Pocock

Money: Raises ~$3-5B over forwards depending on settings

Needed: Senate inquiry → legislative amendment

Achieves: Captures more gas-export resource rent for the Commonwealth

Source

B26-012. Working-capital reinvestment exemption from 30% trust tax

small

Treasury - industry - Family Business Association

Money: ~$200M/yr forgone

Needed: Carve-out for productive reinvestment within trust

Achieves: Protects genuine family business succession from blanket 30% rate

Source

B26-013. Social impact rental tax class — keep 50% CGT if rent <80% market for 5 years

medium

Treasury - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Cost ~$300M/yr — partially offsets affordable-housing subsidies

Needed: New tax class created in 1 July 2027 reforms

Achieves: Channels investor capital into affordable rent instead of pushing it elsewhere

Source

B26-014. Vacant property tax — federal split 50/50 with councils

medium

Treasury - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Raises ~$1B/yr (~150k empty homes nationally)

Needed: New federal levy on dwellings vacant >6 months/yr

Achieves: Activates 150,000 empty homes; complements Vic state model nationally

Source

B26-015. $10,000 federal first-home buyer grant for new builds

medium

Treasury - industry - Master Builders / Coalition

Money: Costs ~$700M/yr

Needed: New grant program complementing 5% deposits

Achieves: Restores Coalition-era HomeBuilder demand signal targeted at supply

Source

B26-016. $20B Public Housing Investment Fund

big

Social Services - political - Australian Greens / Senator Barbara Pocock

Money: $20B over decade

Needed: New federal public-housing fund alongside HAFF

Achieves: Adds direct public-housing build pipeline beyond market-based HAFF returns

Source

B26-017. Federal minimum tenancy standards floor (no-cause evictions banned)

medium

Attorney-General's - welfare - ACOSS / Tenants Union

Money: Conditional on state housing-funding flow

Needed: Federal-state agreement tied to housing funding

Achieves: Creates a national floor of renter protections that today only exists in some states

Source

B26-018. Build-to-rent super performance test explicit credit

medium

Treasury - industry - Industry Super Australia

Money: No fiscal cost; reallocates super capital

Needed: Performance test reform clarifying housing as productive

Achieves: Unlocks $4.5T super sector for build-to-rent at scale

Source

B26-019. Foreign buyer levy applied to new builds (not just established)

small

Treasury - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Raises ~$400M/yr

Needed: Extend existing foreign-buyer ban with a levy on new-build foreign purchases

Achieves: Captures foreign-investor premium and discourages 'investor-grade' new builds

Source

B26-020. Construction-skills migration visa (40,000 places)

medium

Home Affairs - industry - Master Builders Australia

Money: Costs ~$60M admin

Needed: New visa class targeting trade qualifications

Achieves: Addresses the trades shortfall blocking the 1.2M housing target

Source

B26-021. $2B housing infrastructure conditional on planning approval times <12 months

small

Infrastructure - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: No new cost — conditionality on existing $2B

Needed: Federal grant conditions

Achieves: Forces state planning reform as price of the federal cheque

Source

B26-022. Universal Foundational Supports outside NDIS

big

Social Services - sector - NDIS Review (Bonyhady) / Inclusion Australia

Money: $3B provision already; need $19.3B over 4 years

Needed: Joint Commonwealth-state delivery framework with legislated minimums

Achieves: Saves NDIS $19.3B over 4 years and supports 1-in-5 Australians with disability outside the scheme

Source

B26-023. Thriving Kids state readiness veto

medium

Social Services - crossbench - Senator David Pocock

Money: No cost; legislated check

Needed: NDIS Amendment Bill clause: no participant transitioned out until state alternative operational in their region

Achieves: Stops the 'burn the house down' risk Inclusion Australia flagged

Source

B26-024. NDIS Exit Bridge — automatic 12 months foundational supports for participants losing access

medium

Social Services - sector - Every Australian Counts

Money: Costs ~$1.5B over forwards

Needed: New transitional support program in Securing the NDIS Bill

Achieves: Closes the trapdoor for the 160,000 set to lose access by 2030

Source

B26-025. Public functional-capacity assessment standard with appeal pathway

medium

Social Services - sector - Inclusion Australia / PWDA

Money: Costs ~$50M admin

Needed: Assessment criteria published; NDIS Appeals Panel resourced

Achieves: Stops the 'guilty until proven disabled' Robodebt comparison

Source

B26-026. Cultural Safety veto on First Nations NDIS transitions

medium

Indigenous Australians - sector - First Peoples Disability Network

Money: No cost; legislated

Needed: Joint NIAA-NDIA cultural-safety framework with FN community veto

Achieves: Prevents culturally unsafe transitions where local alternatives don't exist

Source

B26-027. NDIS Appeals & Plan Reviews public dashboard

small

Social Services - editorial - YourGov analysis / EAC

Money: ~$5M dev/yr

Needed: NDIA mandated to publish appeals, AAT outcomes, plan-cut data monthly

Achieves: Transparency on the actual operational impact of overhaul

Source

B26-028. NDIS Provider Sustainability Index

small

Social Services - sector - PWDA / providers

Money: ~$3M/yr

Needed: NDIA tracks provider entry/exit by region, publishes quarterly

Achieves: Identifies regions where the NDIS market is collapsing

Source

B26-029. NDIS workforce visa for disability support workers

medium

Home Affairs - union - Australian Services Union

Money: ~$80M admin

Needed: New occupation list addition; workforce planning agreement

Achieves: Counters the disability workforce contraction risk ACTU flagged

Source

B26-030. Bulk-billing GP guarantee for under-16s

big

Health, Disability and Ageing - sector - RACGP / AMA

Money: Costs ~$2.5B/yr

Needed: Bulk-billing incentive for all GP visits by children <16

Achieves: Removes paediatric financial barrier; reduces ED presentations

Source

B26-031. Free dental for under-18s on Medicare

big

Health, Disability and Ageing - sector - Australian Medical Association

Money: Costs ~$1.5B/yr

Needed: Extension of Child Dental Benefits Schedule to universal coverage

Achieves: Adds dental to Medicare — single highest-impact preventive measure for kids

Source

B26-032. Means-test the over-65s private health rebate scrap

small

Health, Disability and Ageing - sector - National Seniors Australia

Money: Forgoes ~$200M/yr vs full scrap

Needed: Income-test the rebate cut so only highest-income over-65s lose it

Achieves: Protects working-class retirees from the 21% premium spike

Source

B26-033. 24/7 GP after-hours via telehealth

medium

Health, Disability and Ageing - sector - RACGP

Money: Costs ~$400M/yr

Needed: New telehealth MBS items + state co-payment

Achieves: Cuts ED ramping; UCC complement

Source

B26-034. Standalone National Anti-Vape Centre

small

Health, Disability and Ageing - sector - Australian Medical Association

Money: ~$50M/yr

Needed: New centre + state enforcement

Achieves: Sustained enforcement of vape import ban

Source

B26-035. Aged care + nursing workforce skilled visa

medium

Home Affairs - industry - Aged & Community Care Providers Association

Money: ~$80M admin

Needed: Expand priority migration occupation list

Achieves: Closes the 12% Royal Commission workforce gap

Source

B26-036. AUKUS supply chain transparency dashboard

small

Defence - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: ~$5M/yr

Needed: Defence publishes contract-level data on AUKUS supply chain

Achieves: Tracks $96B Australia-share spend; builds accountability

Source

B26-037. Defence housing for Australian service families (not just US/UK)

medium

Defence - crossbench - Senator Barbara Pocock

Money: Reallocate $110M AUKUS housing

Needed: Defence Housing Australia expansion

Achieves: Addresses the optics of $110M for foreign-troop housing while domestic ADF families wait

Source

B26-038. AUKUS workforce jobs guarantee in shipbuilding regions

medium

Defence - industry - Defence industry / SA-WA state govts

Money: ~$200M/yr

Needed: Federal-state apprenticeship + skills program tied to AUKUS

Achieves: Locks in workforce ahead of Henderson/Osborne build-out

Source

B26-039. Veteran claims wait-time public dashboard

small

Veterans' Affairs - sector - RSL NSW

Money: ~$2M/yr

Needed: DVA publishes wait times by claim type monthly

Achieves: Operationalises the $800M Royal Commission response

Source

B26-040. Veteran advocacy workforce funding boost

small

Veterans' Affairs - sector - RSL NSW

Money: ~$50M/yr

Needed: Expand existing free veteran advocacy program

Achieves: Advocacy workforce is the binding constraint on claim processing

Source

B26-041. Neighbourhood battery program

medium

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - sector - Climate Council

Money: $2B over 4 years

Needed: Federal grants to councils/community energy retailers

Achieves: Street-level resilience vs fuel reserve at federal scale

Source

B26-042. Capacity Investment Scheme extension

big

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - sector - Climate Council

Money: ~$10B over decade

Needed: CIS rounds 5+ scheduled

Achieves: Reverses Labor's 'renewables freeze' flagged by SMH pre-budget

Source

B26-043. E-bike rebate $1,500/household

small

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - sector - Bicycle Network Australia

Money: ~$300M/yr

Needed: Means-tested rebate scheme

Achieves: Active-transport companion to Active Transport Fund

Source

B26-044. National Climate Insurance Pool (cyclone/fire/flood)

big

Treasury - industry - Insurance Council of Australia

Money: ~$10B initial capitalisation

Needed: Reinsurance Australia extended to all climate perils

Achieves: Addresses 14% YoY premium increases; protects northern Australia insurability

Source

B26-045. Net Zero Authority real legislated powers

medium

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - sector - Climate Council

Money: Reallocate existing baseline

Needed: Legislation upgrades NZA from advisory to decisional

Achieves: Centralises transition policy; matches scale of $42.3B household package

Source

B26-046. Ethanol mandate (E10 minimum) in fuel supply

small

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - crossbench - Bob Katter MP / KAP

Money: ~$200M/yr admin

Needed: Federal fuel standard amendment

Achieves: Reduces oil-import dependence; supports grain growers

Source

B26-047. EV salary-packaging means-test

small

Treasury - independent - Productivity Commission / Danielle Wood

Money: Saves ~$300M/yr extra

Needed: Income-test the FBT exemption for over-$180k earners

Achieves: Targets the EV subsidy at middle earners not Tesla salary-packagers

Source

B26-048. Federal coal/gas project moratorium

big

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - political - Australian Greens

Money: Net positive ~$2B over forwards (forgone subsidies)

Needed: Moratorium on new federal approvals

Achieves: Halt new fossil capacity build-out while transition incomplete

Source

B26-049. Lift Commonwealth share to 100% SRS by 2030 (not 25% by 2034)

big

Education - union - Australian Education Union

Money: ~$18B over 4 years

Needed: Accelerate Better Schools Funding ramp

Achieves: Closes the public schools funding gap a decade earlier

Source

B26-050. End Job-ready Graduates fee bands

medium

Education - sector - Universities Australia

Money: ~$1B/yr

Needed: Repeal 2020 HE Support Amendment

Achieves: Removes the punitive humanities/arts fee differential

Source

B26-051. Free TAFE expansion to 100,000 places/yr

medium

Education - sector - TAFE Directors Australia

Money: ~$700M/yr

Needed: Expand existing Free TAFE program

Achieves: Doubles capacity in priority sectors (aged care, construction, EV trades)

Source

B26-052. R&D investment target — 3% of GDP by 2030

big

Industry, Science and Resources - sector - Universities Australia

Money: ~$15B/yr by 2030

Needed: Legislated R&D investment target with annual reporting

Achieves: Reverses the 1.7% slide; matches OECD median

Source

B26-053. Doctoral stipend +$10,000/yr

small

Education - sector - Universities Australia

Money: ~$200M/yr

Needed: Lift RTP stipend baseline

Achieves: Retains research talent against private-sector and US salaries

Source

B26-054. Universal free preschool for 3-year-olds

big

Education - sector - Mitchell Institute

Money: ~$2.5B/yr

Needed: Federal-state agreement extending entitlement

Achieves: Closes the early-learning gap; female workforce participation gain

Source

B26-055. Childcare worker wage rise +25% (above current 15%)

medium

Education - union - United Workers Union

Money: ~$1.5B/yr

Needed: Multi-employer bargaining + federal supplement

Achieves: Stems educator exodus; matches aged care wage uplift

Source

B26-056. JobSeeker to 70% of pension

big

Social Services - welfare - ACOSS / Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee

Money: ~$5.5B/yr

Needed: Base-rate increase + indexation lift

Achieves: EIAC recommendation finally adopted; lifts 3.7M out of poverty

Source

B26-057. Single Parent Payment until child is 16

medium

Social Services - sector - NCSMC

Money: ~$700M/yr

Needed: Reverse Howard-era PPS-to-Newstart at age 8

Achieves: Restores income for single parents during high-cost years

Source

B26-058. 30% boost to Commonwealth Rent Assistance

medium

Social Services - welfare - ACOSS

Money: ~$2.2B/yr

Needed: CRA rate increase + indexation review

Achieves: CRA hasn't kept pace with rents (rents up 44% in 5 yrs)

Source

B26-059. Disability Support Pension auto-process for NDIS exits

small

Social Services - sector - PWDA

Money: ~$30M admin

Needed: Joint DSS-NDIA data-share

Achieves: Prevents NDIS exiters falling into Centrelink wait-time gap

Source

B26-060. Energy bill rebate uplift for income support recipients

small

Social Services - welfare - ACOSS

Money: ~$400M/yr

Needed: Top-up to existing $150 rebate for ConcessionCard holders

Achieves: Targets cost-of-living help at those least likely to benefit from $250 offset

Source

B26-061. Counter-Terrorism Online Centre civil oversight panel

small

Home Affairs - sector - Liberty Victoria

Money: ~$3M/yr

Needed: Independent oversight panel reporting to PJC-IS

Achieves: Civil-liberties guardrails on the new $600M centre

Source

B26-062. Refugee humanitarian intake to 27,000

medium

Home Affairs - sector - Refugee Council of Australia

Money: ~$300M/yr

Needed: Lift planning level from 20,000

Achieves: Returns intake to pre-Coalition baseline

Source

B26-063. Skilled migration program to 200,000

medium

Home Affairs - sector - Migration Council of Australia

Money: Net positive fiscal

Needed: Lift permanent program from 185,000

Achieves: Addresses structural skills gaps in health, construction, tech

Source

B26-064. ACCO funding share floor — 50% of CTG measures

medium

Indigenous Australians - sector - Coalition of Peaks

Money: Reallocate within existing $1.2B

Needed: Federal commitment via National Agreement

Achieves: Forces 'community-controlled' to be more than rhetoric — Coalition of Peaks acid test

Source

B26-065. Federal Treaty process funding

big

Indigenous Australians - sector - First Nations advocacy

Money: ~$500M over 4 years

Needed: Establish national Treaty framework alongside state processes

Achieves: Builds on Voice referendum loss with deliverable structural reform

Source

B26-066. Stolen Generations reparations scheme

medium

Indigenous Australians - sector - Reconciliation Australia

Money: ~$1B one-off

Needed: National scheme aligned with state precedents

Achieves: Outstanding national obligation

Source

B26-067. AI Safety Institute with regulatory powers

medium

Industry, Science and Resources - industry - Tech Council of Australia

Money: ~$30M scaling

Needed: Legislate AISI powers beyond monitoring/sharing

Achieves: UK-model regulator that can require model evaluations

Source

B26-068. Battery cell manufacturing IRA-scale subsidy

big

Industry, Science and Resources - industry - Manufacturing Australia

Money: ~$5B over decade

Needed: Future Made in Australia tax credit expansion

Achieves: Australia keeps battery value-add domestically vs IRA pull to US

Source

B26-069. Tech Council $167B GDP plan implementation

big

Industry, Science and Resources - industry - Tech Council of Australia

Money: Net positive (private investment unlock)

Needed: Package of R&D, AI, skills, venture-capital and copyright reforms

Achieves: Implements TCA's full $167B GDP-uplift agenda

Source

B26-070. Open-data API mandate for every federal agency

small

Prime Minister and Cabinet - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: ~$50M build

Needed: Federal directive + agency CTO accountability

Achieves: Operationalises the 'tell us once' promise across 2,280 entities

Source

B26-071. APS consultancy ratio cap

small

Finance - union - CPSU

Money: ~$1B savings/yr

Needed: Cap external-labour spend at 5% of departmental expenses

Achieves: Locks in the $2.7B clawback as a permanent rule not annual saving

Source

B26-072. Inland Rail Melbourne-Brisbane formal wind-down plan

small

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts - industry - Australian Logistics Council

Money: Saves ~$2B over forwards

Needed: ARTC mandated to release exit/transition plan

Achieves: Stops $15B sunk-cost confusion; releases land for alternative use

Source

B26-073. NSW infrastructure top-up to match Vic SRL grant

big

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts - state - NSW Premier Chris Minns

Money: ~$3.8B (matching Vic)

Needed: Federal-NSW infrastructure agreement

Achieves: Defuses the Minns-Allan GST/SRL fight

Source

B26-074. Active Transport Fund permanence

small

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts - sector - Bicycle Network Australia

Money: $500M/yr ongoing

Needed: Legislate ATF as continuing program not budget-line

Achieves: Locks in modal-shift gain

Source

B26-075. Federal council infrastructure floor

medium

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts - sector - Australian Local Government Association

Money: ~$1.5B/yr

Needed: Per-capita formula for Financial Assistance Grants restored to 1% of Cwlth tax

Achieves: Reverses the 30-year decline in council funding share

Source

B26-076. Drought policy reform — multi-year RIC capacity

medium

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - sector - National Farmers' Federation

Money: ~$2B over forwards

Needed: Extend RIC mandate + lift cap

Achieves: SA-Vic drought now in year 2; current settings inadequate

Source

B26-077. Biosecurity cost recovery on importers

small

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - sector - National Farmers' Federation

Money: Cost-neutral via importer levies

Needed: Levy importers based on actual biosecurity service cost

Achieves: Sustainable funding for biosecurity vs single-incursion blow-out risk

Source

B26-078. Universal Voluntary Patient Enrolment

big

Health, Disability and Ageing - sector - AMA / RACGP

Money: ~$1B/yr

Needed: Scale MyMedicare to universal opt-in

Achieves: Aligns funding with continuity of care; reduces ED reliance

Source

B26-079. Compliance Burden Index — quarterly by department

small

Prime Minister and Cabinet - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: ~$5M/yr

Needed: PM&C mandates index publication

Achieves: Forces $10.2B/yr deregulation claim to be measurable per agency

Source

B26-080. My Budget Impact public calculator

small

Treasury - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: ~$300k build

Needed: Embed on yourgov.com.au + ATO API

Achieves: Citizen-facing tool showing personal impact of every measure

Source

B26-081. Broken Promise Tracker — 2025 election commitments

small

Prime Minister and Cabinet - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Editorial product

Needed: Live tracking of every 2025 commitment with RAG status

Achieves: Slots into existing /reports/performance-to-strategy

Source

B26-082. Thriving Kids Readiness Audit — state-by-state quarterly

small

Social Services - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Editorial product

Needed: Quarterly state scorecard of Thriving Kids readiness

Achieves: Owns the implementation-watch beat for 18+ months

Source

B26-083. EV charging gap map per LGA

small

Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Editorial product

Needed: Overlay charging stations on $2B housing-enabling infra LGAs

Achieves: Identifies suburbs getting new dwellings but no charging

Source

B26-084. Hospital ED wait-time live dashboard per hospital

small

Health, Disability and Ageing - editorial - YourGov analysis

Money: Editorial product

Needed: Pull AIHW + state PHN data into a unified dashboard

Achieves: Citizens see if the $25B hospital uplift actually moves wait times

Source

Reactions and pressure points

Coalition

risk

"Broken promises, higher taxes, lower living standards and fewer homes."

Main attack is trust: negative gearing and CGT were ruled out before the election.

Greens

risk

"Tinkering around the edges."

They want JobSeeker lifted, fossil-fuel revenue captured and housing reforms pushed harder.

ACTU

upside

"Long-overdue cost-of-living recognition for the workers who held the economy up."

Supportive on worker tax relief, less settled on insecure work and NDIS workforce effects.

ACOSS

mixed

"Tax cuts will not help those with the least."

Welcomes asset-side rebalance but sees JobSeeker omission as the moral failure.

AMA

mixed

"The announcement alone will not be enough to stop the decline in hospital performance."

Funding is welcome, but system reform and workforce capacity remain unresolved.

Property Council

risk

"We won't get more supply of new homes if we hike taxes on investment in that supply."

The property sector will fight the housing-tax package on supply grounds.

Universities Australia

risk

"A missed opportunity to build on the government's recent investments."

Research and innovation advocates see Accord implementation without a research step-change.

Climate Council

mixed

"Reservation must be an exit ramp for expensive gas."

Supports resilience logic only if it speeds the energy transition rather than locking gas in.

Inclusion Australia

risk

"You can't burn the house down until there's somewhere else for people to go."

The clearest warning on NDIS transition sequencing.