Key budget takeouts: this year’s big winners and losers

It’s a bread-and-butter budget with no huge surprises — and nothing too dramatic announced. But that doesn’t mean some people didn’t do better than others.

The government is clearly hoping the pandemic is over, with COVID support funding scaled back and set to run out this year. But there’s good news for those prepping for things other than infectious disease, with the disaster-relief payment set to get a boost. 

Here are some of the major winners and losers. 

Winner: doomsday preppers

With fires, floods and a possible nuclear war on the horizon, disaster preppers are sure to be thrilled. The government has pledged extra cash to the Disaster Ready Fund, including up to $200 million a year starting in 2023 to invest in flood levees, cyclone shelters, fire breaks and evacuation centres, along with $50 million to target “high priority locally and nationally significant coastal and estuarine disaster risk mitigation projects”. 

Speaking of natural disasters, Victoria is set to get $22.6 million for ongoing bushfire recovery, Queensland will get $24.6 million for flood recovery, and the Norco Ice Cream Factory in the Northern Rivers region of NSW will get $2.8 million to rebuild. 

Winner: our friends near (and one far) 

Our regional neighbours are clear winners. There’s the previously announced $900 million budget boost to strengthen our relationship with Pacific countries, plus $175.1 million over four years from 2022–23 to boost permanent migration with up to 3000 extra places via the Pacific Engagement Visa for nationals of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste. Then there’s an extra $1.4 billion in Official Development Assistance over four years in the Pacific and South-East Asia. 

The ABC will also get $32 million over four years to expand regional transmission in the Pacific. 

Ukraine is also still top of mind for Australia, with $213.3 million from 2021 to 2026 for military assistance, humanitarian visas and help settling Ukrainians in Australia. 

Loser: pretty much everyone else in the world

While the Pacific, South-East Asia and Ukraine will be receiving some love, that’s the extent of our aid. Despite growing famine in Africa and the Middle East thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with political issues and high inflation across South America, our pockets are only so deep. 

Winner: any staff left at DFAT

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is finally up for a cash injection. The department had nearly 1000 jobs cut under the Coalition — a hollowing out that may take two to three terms of government to undo. 

From 2023 DFAT will receive a boost of $26.6 million in additional departmental resourcing, with average staffing numbers expected to grow by 100 people compared to last financial year.

Winner: aspiring homeowners 

The government plans to build 1 million new homes over five years from 2024. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he wants homes built where there’s work, using Rockhampton as an example. 

The government has pledged $350 million for the new Housing Accord. It also announced $10 billion for the Housing Australia Future Fund to draw investors into the industry, plus an additional $575 million in unallocated funding for the National Housing Infrastructure Facility. 

Loser: anyone who catches COVID-19

The government has found some big savings in pandemic spending, with a decrease in 2022-23 of $4.6 billion compared with last year as support measures are rolled back.

That’s not to say COVID-19 isn’t still costly, with an extra $2.6 billion allocated between now and the end of the year. But there’s nothing earmarked for after 2022, signalling the government wants the pandemic to be economically over — epidemiology be damned. 

There’s $810.2 million for claims made by aged care providers for additional costs incurred due to COVID-19 outbreaks and $34.9 million for testing in residential aged care facilities, along with $808.2 million to extend COVID-19 support for staff shortages; partnerships in covering vaccines, testing and treatments with states; and the GP-led respiratory clinics program. But all of that cash is only good until the end of the year.

$50.4 million has been redirected from training nurses to deliver COVID-19 vaccines in residential aged care, with the government arguing there are already existing arrangements to roll out vaccines (though the fourth-dose vaccination statistics for the elderly still aren’t where we want them to be). 

The upside is $162.4 million in rebates for PCR testing, telehealth appointments and COVID-19 antiviral suitability assessments.

The government will also decommission the troubled COVIDSafe App, the Coronavirus Australia App and the COVID-19 WhatsApp channel. 

While experts have been pushing for a Centre for Disease Control, just $3.2 million has been earmarked to undertake the initial design and research into the centre (and only $1.7 million of that cash is new, with the rest coming from the aged care budget).