2021/22 Federal Budget - What’s in it for you?

The business community has welcomed the extension of the instant asset write-off program handed down in Tuesday night’s budget, but there’s no quick fix at hand for reopening international borders.

The big news for Victoria – funding for the Melbourne Intermodal Terminal – is also big news for Melton, with Truganina nominated by the State Government as the preferred site

But what’s in all this for you?

Here’s the biggest impacts of the 2021/22 Federal Budget for our local businesses:

Melbourne Intermodal Terminal

The big ticket item for Victoria announced Tuesday night is $2 billion over four years towards the Melbourne Intermodal Terminal. The terminal is a huge transfer station where containers and goods will come off the new Inland Rail Project to be loaded onto trucks. The Inland Rail Project will allow a large amount of freight to shift to rail, taking pressure off roads. Two sites have been short-listed for the terminal, one locally at Truganina. The other alternative is Beveridge in the Melbourne’s north. Victorian Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said this week the State Government’s preferred location is Truganina, an area already home to a "significant amount of freight movement". A Freight Terminal in Melton has the potential to create up to 30,000 jobs for the outer west.

Border openings

The budget assumes that international borders will not open until the middle of next year, but the government warns that any decision on border openings would be dependent on health advice. It would be a phased opening of the border, with the possibility of some international students allowed by the end of this year, and a larger-scale opening following months later, when the government expects to have most Australians vaccinated

Business
The budget has largely been welcomed by business groups, although the tourism sector has expressed impatience with the anticipated timeframe for border openings.

The big news is that last year's instant asset write-off for business is being extended by another 12 months, meaning businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion will be able to write off the full value of any eligible asset – such as work vehicles or equipment - purchased between the last budget and 30 June, 2023. Additionally, any losses incurred up to June 2023 can be offset against prior profits made going back to the 2018-19 financial year.

Also announced was $129.8 million for new business assistance through the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS), Exploring Being My Own Boss Workshops and Entrepreneurship Facilitators.

There are additional boosts for individual sectors:

• Eligible small brewers and distillers are getting some more help this year: from July 1 eligible operations will be handed back up to $350,000 worth of taxes (an increase from the current 60 percent refund of taxes up to a $100,000 annual cap).

• As part of the government's $1.2 billion digital technology and economy package, a 30 percent refundable Digital Games Tax Offset will be offered to try and attract more of the $250 billion global game market to Australia.

• Medical Startups will benefit from a new tax program aimed at encouraging medical and biotech companies to stay in Australia while they develop and then sell their ideas. The Patent Box Tax Regime will tax any income from a company's patent at a concessional rate of 17 per cent starting from July 1, 2022 (currently large businesses are taxed at 30 per cent and small-to-medium enterprises at 25 per cent).

Skills and Training

The government will commit an additional $500 million - matched by state and territory governments - to expand the JobTrainer Fund by a further 163,000 places and extend the program until 31 December 2022.

$2.7 billion will go to extending the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program. The program is expected to support more than 170,000 new apprentices and trainees by paying businesses a 50 percent wage subsidy over 12 months for newly commencing apprentices or trainees signed up by 31 March 2022. The subsidy will be capped at $7,000 per quarter per apprentice or trainee.

There’s also funding for pathway services to help 5,000 women get started in a non-traditional apprenticeships.

Taxpayers

There’s a win for taxpayers too, with the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset set to remain in place for another year. The offset will refund Australians up to $1,080 at tax time, the biggest beneficiaries being those earning between $48,000 and $90,000 a year.

Agriculture
Our farming communities will benefit from the extension of the instant asset write-off, and the government will waive almost $15 million of debt owed by more than 5,000 farmers receiving the Farm Household Allowance.

There's also $200 million for a National Soil Strategy which will include rebates for farmers that share the results of soil testing, and $370 million for biosecurity measures to stop the spread of pests and diseases. The government will also spend almost $60 million trialling ways to reduce emissions through livestock feed and soil management.

Childcare

If you’re using childcare services you’ll benefit from an extra $1.7 billion over the next three years going toward changes to the Childcare Subsidy Scheme which will come into effect in July 2022. The changes will see the annual $10,560 cap on households with an income of more than $189,390 abolished.

If you have one child in childcare, the subsidy stays at 65 per cent but increases to 95 per cent per child if you have two or more.

Aged care

The government has committed $10.4 billion to funding an additional 80,000 home care packages over the next two years, with a minimum three hours and 20 minutes of care per day for people in residential care. This will include 40 minutes with a registered nurse. The spend is in response to the royal commission's damning findings of an underfunded aged care sector, and the government has agreed to nearly all of the aged care royal commission's recommendations.