The 2022 New South Wales budget has been announced by Treasurer Matt Kean, his first-ever state budget.
It sees huge investments towards the state’s women, children and first home buyers, with stamp duty being scrapped.
We review the winners and losers – short, simple and everything you need to know.
Winners
First Home Buyers
- New ‘First Home Buyer Choice’ scheme where eligible first home buyers can opt-out of stamp duty, by paying an annual levy of $400 plus 0.3 per cent of the land value of the property.
Parents
- Long daycare subsidy, parents will receive up to $2000 per child aged four and five.
- Fee relief up to $4000 for 3 – 5 yr olds at community or mobile preschools
- “Back to school” bonus for primary & high school students, $150 per child
Women
- Increased funding to support women to boost women – $4.9 bn
Private Childcare Operators
- $5bn up for grabs to expand or build new centres
Pre-Kindy Children
- 4yos receive an extra year of education
Public Schools
- $1.6bn school building boom, concentrated in worst hit by COVID areas
- Rural and remote health workers – $3k “thank you” payment
- Additional $10k available for critical and hard-to-fill roles
Single Parents
- Key workers and vulnerable older people – $740m shared equity scheme for 3000 frontline workers to enter the housing market
First Nations Communities
- $716m to boost Closing the Gap target
- $25m to permanently place the Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
- $900k for repatriation of ancestral remains
Buses
- $218 m+ for state’s bus fleet to go green
Police, SES, RFS and National Parks
- $5.5 bn for state police force
- State Emergency Service will receive $132m
- Rural Fire Service $19m over four years
- firefighters of the National Parks and Wildlife Service will receive $598m
Culture
- $5.9 million for free entry to the Australian Museum and Sydney Living Museums
Losers
Foreign Investors
- Residential real estate land tax increase from 2 to 4 per cent
Public Sector Workers
- A pay rise lifting the cap on wages to 3 per cent this year, and a possible 3.5 per cent next year. Unfortunately, it’s below inflation (5.1 per cent) and not keeping pace with the rising cost of living.
Southern Sydney Residents
- The second stage of the M6 motorway, delayed.
Gambling
- The government will close a tax loophole in wagering laws to bring the tax rates of online and track betting into line, increasing both to 15 per cent.
Social Housing
- The government will commit $300m 15,800 social homes. But with 50,000 people on the social housing waitlist, sector advocates will be disappointed to see there isn’t more new housing stock