BCCM Federal Budget 2024–25 alert

15 May 2024

The BCCM attended the Federal Budget lock-up at Parliament House yesterday.

After extensive media announcements in the lead up to Budget night, the Treasurer offered few new revelations, handing down a Budget aimed at balancing cost of living and inflationary pressures. The Budget confirmed key cost of living measures including the Stage-3 tax cuts for 13.6 million Australian taxpayers, HECS debt relief, and reduced energy and medicine prices.

Measures of note for co-operatives and mutuals:

• Housing: $1.9 billion in additional loans available to community housing providers, including the rental co-op housing sector.
• Small business: Extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off scheme will assist the thousands of SMEs that are members of co-ops. Energy bill relief also extends to SMEs.
• Social care: $2.2 billion for implementation of Aged Care Royal Commission reforms. The BCCM is engaged in this reform process through the Care Together Program, demonstrating the role co-ops and mutuals can play in making social care more person-centred.
• Manufacturing: The $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia industry policy is a combination of existing and new funding measures. The BCCM will explore any opportunities for our members to participate in the new measures, though many are already allocated to specific projects.
• Competition policy and financial services: $13.9 million to progress competition policy reform, including the financial services Regulatory Grid. The BCCM secured a recommendation in the recent Better Competition, Better Prices report for co-operative and mutual regulatory reforms to be part of this process.

Read the BCCM’s Budget media release.