Victoria’s peak social services body says the state’s election year budget has delivered “lean” funding for the community organisations sector to advocate for the most vulnerable, but welcomed “significant” investments in health and education.
The state’s major healthcare groups have praised the budget’s $12bn health funding blitz, although the peak body for public hospitals has warned it will take time for workforce initiatives to plug critical gaps in the burdened health system.
But the Victorian Council of Social Services chief executive, Emma King, said the budget was “lean” and warned the challenge of long-term funding for the sector remained.
“There is not enough in this budget for us to feel confident,” King told Guardian Australia.
King said it was “incredibly sad” that a $150m package, which transitioned homeless people who stayed in hotels during the pandemic into homes, would not be extended.
“I don’t know what happens to those people,” she said.
“We make choices about what we invest in and I don’t think that we should be making choices that involve taking accommodation options away from people who otherwise are going to be on our streets or couch surfing or sleeping in a car.”
The budget includes a $8.3m investment in the next financial year to support Victorians experiencing homelessness and sleeping rough to overcome barriers to housing.
The Victorian Greens said the government was failing to tackle the housing affordability crisis, which the party says remains the biggest cost of living issue. The party also took aim at the government for backing down on its social housing levy – estimated to raise $800m a year – that it dumped after heavy backlash from key industry groups.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service accused the Andrews government of underfunding its service, warning that as a result “more of our children will be removed from their families, more of our people will be incarcerated, and more of our people will die in custody.”
“It will cost the government far more money to ‘cure’ this short and long-term harm than to prevent it,” the service said in a statement.
It warned that the government could not fulfil the potential of its treaty process, the Yoorrook truth-telling commission and its Closing the Gap justice targets when Indigenous people could not “access the legal services that they need.”
Health funding welcomed
The health funding announced in the budget includes $4.2bn for the state’s pandemic response, $1.3bn for continuing to implement reforms from the royal commission into mental health and $2.9bn worth of new health infrastructure.
The government will invest in hiring up to help train up to 7,000 healthcare workers, including 5,000 nurses. Another $333m will be used to hire 400 new staff for the triple zero call service, which has been plagued by lengthy wait times, with the coroner investigating four deaths linked to call delays.
The Victorian Healthcare Association – which represents public hospitals – said initiatives such as the training of more healthcare workers would provide a necessary boost to stabilise the sector.
The association’s chief executive, Tom Symondson, said it would take time for additional staff to enter the sector and relieve pressures in the system.
The Victorian Ambulance Union secretary, Danny Hill, said the investment in 400 new call takers and dispatchers was welcomed. Hill said further work was needed on the call-taking system and integrating referral pathways to ensure paramedics were not sent to non-emergency situations.
“The increased demand is not due to an increase in car accidents, heart attacks and strokes,” he said. “It’s the increased reliance on ‘000’ and ambulances due to issues in other parts of the system. So, it is good to see the spending aimed at those areas.”
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch backed a $59m investment to fund 2,250 registered undergraduate student nurses over two years and $9.8m to support 75 registered undergraduate student midwives to boost the state’s midwife staffing pool.
The branch secretary, Lisa Fitzpatrick, said the government’s near-$700m investment in expanding the Better at Home program – which helps more Victorians receive treatment at home – was a “smart and efficient way” to improve patient flows to the state’s hospitals.
A tick for school funding, but concerns about Tafe
The Australian Education Union’s Victoria branch president, Meredith Peace, backed the government’s $779m investment in almost 2,000 new teachers, as well as the $1.8bn school infrastructure spend, but said the government “missed the mark” for Tafe funding.
“Despite important investment in recent years, Victorians who rely on Tafes to provide the vocational education they need will be disappointed with this budget,” Peace said.
“The state government’s own review makes it plain that Victoria’s Tafes are not funded to cover the full cost of training. This budget does nothing to address this funding shortfall.”
Industry group and rating agency deliver muted reaction
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said commitments for employers – such as the $99.8m to improve the Services Victoria interface – were modest but would make it easier to do business in the state. The chamber also welcomed investments in major investments and tourism, including $2.6bn for Victoria to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in its regions.
John Manning, the vice-president of rating agency Moody’s, said the recovery “exceeded our initial expectations” but inflation and interest rate rises would make it harder for the Victorian government to contain costs and put pressure on its Aa1 rating.
“Despite the underlying strength of the Victorian and broader Australian economy, we expect Victoria’s debt burden will not stabilise before the end of fiscal [year] 2027, further increasing negative pressure on the state’s rating,” he said.
However, rival agency S&P said its outlook for the state’s AA credit rating was stable, despite debt that is set to rise significantly to fund $21bn a year in infrastructure spending.
