Nearly 60,000 parents, who can currently claim the payment only until their child turns eight, will claim the extra money from September. About $2 billion will be spent over five years expanding access to the single parent welfare benefit until a recipient’s youngest child turns 14.A higher rate of JobSeeker, currently available for people aged over 60, will also be made available for over-55s, who find it more difficult to break into the job market. Nearly $5 billion will be spent over five years increasing the rate of JobSeeker – for people of all ages – and Youth Allowance by $40 a fortnight from September.Vulnerable Australians will receive rebates on their energy bills worth up to $500, with the $3 billion cost jointly funded with state and territory governments.Deficits in future years are much smaller than expected, meaning future surpluses could be secured if the government chooses to wind back controversial income tax cuts or tax concessions. The Coalition will argue the turnaround was driven by higher revenue from high commodity prices, but Labor will hammer home the fact that it banked nearly 90 per cent of the revenue rises. What you should know: The first surplus since the Howard government is the stuff of Labor dreams. Over five years, the cumulative deficit is expected to be $126 billion better than previously forecast of this amount, $114 billion is from more people paying income tax and resource companies paying tax on record commodity profits.The 2023-24 deficit is expected to be $14 billion before increasing for two years into the mid-30s then narrowing to $28.5 billion in 2026-27. However, deficits will return from next financial year.This is a $41 billion turnaround from the government’s October predictions. The government expects to deliver a surplus of $4.2 billion this financial year – the first time a federal government has spent less than it has raised in more than 15 years.The economy will slow markedly, but unemployment shouldn’t rise dramatically. The government claims its cost-of-living relief measures will reduce inflation by a quarter of a percentage point, but some economists have cast doubt on this claim, which will be key to the government’s economic narrative. What you should know: The scourge of inflation is finally set to ease as high interest rates curtail spending. It is expected to outstrip inflation from 2023-24 for the first time in many years. Over the same period, wages growth is expected to rise from 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent, before stabilising at about 3.5 per cent.
Consumer price growth is forecast to fall from 6 per cent this year to just over 3 per cent next year and then back into the Reserve Bank’s 2-3 per cent target band.The unemployment rate is expected to rise from a near-record low of 3.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent next year, then hover in the mid-four per cent range for a few years.This will hit Australia, as real GDP growth drops from 3.25 per cent this year to 1.5 per cent in 2023-24 before recovering to 2.25 per cent the following year. Treasury is warning global economic growth will drop to its weakest level in more than two decades, due largely to higher interest rates.Here is your quick guide to the measures in this year’s budget that will affect you most. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size
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