WINNERS
Renters
Renters are winners in the budget, although it will take some years for the benefits to flow through. Build-to-rent will be prioritised again, on the back of last year's budget commitments, with a goal to provide housing that offers longer lease periods and greater security for renters. To support this, the ACT government has established a $60 million Affordable Housing Project Fund, which will include up to 22 affordable properties for at-risk and vulnerable women under a build-to-rent-to-buy initiative and about 160 affordable rental properties across three build-to-rent developments.
The government will also spend $1 million over 2024-25 and 2025-26 to release a site in the Gungahlin town centre for a build-to-rent development that would need to include a minimum 15 per cent affordable rentals.
Families with 3-year-olds
About 5000 3-year-old children will be able to access one day per week of free preschool from next year. However, it remains to be seen how many families enroll because it may be inconvenient for those wanting more consistent education and care options.
Gungahlin students
While there are school building projects planned for all regions, Gungahlin is once again taking a large share of the school infrastructure budget.
This budget provides $114 million for a second Gungahlin College and follows through on building the expansion of Margaret Hendry School, a new East Gungahlin High School at Kenny and a new North Gungahlin High School.
Police and emergency services
The budget includes $74.3m in funding to recruit 126 additional personnel by 2027-28, with no specific requirement of these to be "frontline" or sworn officers.
Funding of $3.3 million to assess a new city-based Winchester Police Centre, and fresh options for city and Woden police stations, and to future "infrastructure needs" in the Molonglo Valley. There is $67 million over the next three years to build a joint fire and ambulance centre at Molonglo, as well as planning and design for another in Casey.
Local sport
A long-awaited expansion and upgrade of the Belconnen Basketball Stadium and a $7.4 million investment into upgrades to district netball facilities have made basketball and netball two of sport's big winners.
A final dollar figure on investment into Belconnen's basketball facility is yet to be settled upon, but little more than a month ago Basketball ACT had called for a $30 million investment amid fear they will have to turn players away as participation soars to record levels.
Basketball ACT has been holding onto a vacant block of land next to Belconnen Basketball Stadium for 10 years, paying more than $500,000 in rates in the hope of one day converting it into indoor courts. That wish is about to come true.
Northsiders
The ACT government has committed to building a new hospital in Canberra's north. The $1 billion hospital has come following the controversial decision to compulsorily acquire Calvary Public Hospital Bruce. The new hospital will be built on the Bruce site. The ACT government will spend $64 million over the next two years on the design work for a new hospital for the Bruce site, which is expected to be completed by 2030.
LOSERS
Small business
There are no major funding announcements for small businesses, however the government will spend $304,000 over the next two years to continue the Canberra Business Advice and Support Service.
The government will also deliver an inaugural small business expo to promote businesses in the ACT and surrounding region and offer networking opportunities. The funding will be fully offset by existing resources.
To ease energy bill stress, average businesses are estimated to receive $624 from the ACT government's large-scale feed-in tariff scheme.
Calvary
The decision to compulsorily acquire Calvary's Bruce public hospital to build a new hospital has upset the Catholic-run organisation. The acquisition will mean Calvary will lose out on a contract, which had 76 years remaining, to deliver public health services to the territory. Calvary had tried to challenge the decision but was unsuccessful in the High Court.
Molonglo Valley students
The government will spend $2 million to plan a college for the Molonglo Valley but there's no money for construction and no timeline for when it will be built. At this stage the current high school students at Evelyn Scott School won't have a college campus in their area by the time they need it.
Big business
Large businesses will face higher payroll taxes with the government to introduce a surcharge. The surcharge will be applied to businesses with Australia-wide wages above $50 million. There will be an extra 0.25 per cent on ACT wages above the payroll tax threshold and for businesses with Australia-wide wages above $100 million it will be 0.5 per cent above the threshold. It is expected to be only paid by large national and multinational businesses. The measure is expected to raise $66 million over the forward estimates.
