Category: Australian News

The Albanese Government has officially opened the WA Submarine Discovery Centre in Rockingham – a new information hub where the local community can learn about Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program and stay up to date on the delivery of our submarines.

This program will significantly enhance Australia’s ability to defend our country and build our self‑reliance. It will also deliver generational investments for Western Australia where around 10,000 direct jobs will be supported over the next two decades as a result of the Albanese Government’s investments in AUKUS and shipbuilding.

Rockingham has a long and proud connection to the Royal Australian Navy and a shared history dating back over forty years. The local community is central to delivering Australia’s nuclear‑powered submarine capability and is already seeing AUKUS in action.

The WA Submarine Discovery Centre, developed by the Australian Submarine Agency, is part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to engaging with state and local governments, and the community, including through community information sessions. 

The Centre features interactive exhibits, educational resources on topics including STEM opportunities and WA’s proud submarine history. It will act as a front door for the community to ask questions and a place to host community events on how the program is progressing and a delivering a Future Made in Australia.

Its official opening comes as preparations for the establishment of Submarine Rotational Force‑West next year continue, which will see the United States and the United Kingdom have a rotational presence at HMAS Stirling – supporting Australia to build the capabilities and skills needed to safely and securely own, operate and maintain a fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear‑powered submarines from the early 2030s.

The Discovery Centre will be open to the public on Tuesday-Thursday each week. 

It is located at 19 Kent Street, Rockingham and is adjacent to the Gary Holland Community Centre and the Rockingham Tourism Centre.  

For more information visit: https://www.asa.gov.au/submarine-discovery-centre 

Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:

“The new Discovery Centre will be a valuable resource for Rockingham – providing a space for locals and visitors to explore what our investments in AUKUS mean for them, and learn about how we are transitioning to this game changing capability.

“Western Australia is already the home of Australia’s submarines, and is now at the forefront of the AUKUS pathway playing a vital role in Australia becoming sovereign ready to own and operate our own fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

“This generational investment in this critical military capability is also an investment in Australian jobs, workforces, and industry, including in Western Australia.”

Member for Brand, Madeleine King:

“AUKUS represents a generational opportunity for Western Australia and for workers and families in Rockingham.

“Rockingham has a long and proud history of supporting the Royal Australian Navy for over 40 years. Since being first commissioned in 1978, Rockingham has warmly welcomed HMAS Stirling into our community, with the City itself granting it Freedom of Entry in 1988, and HMAS Stirling exercising that freedom in 2023, supported by the thousands of local residents that came along to be part of an important tradition. 

“Rockingham will be at the forefront of AUKUS, providing jobs and economic opportunity and playing a central role in the security of Australia.”

The Royal Australian Navy today celebrated the achievements of its newest graduates from the Navy Indigenous Development Program (NIDP), marking the end of a powerful journey of growth, challenge and self‑discovery.

At HMAS Cairns, graduates took part in a formal parade and ceremonial march past family, community members and Defence representatives, including Minister for Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh and newly appointed Deputy Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Darren Grogan, CSM, RAN.  

The NIDP is a five-month training program designed to equip young First Nations Australians with the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to contribute to a stronger and more capable naval workforce.

Aligned with the Government’s Closing the Gap strategy, the program is open to First Nations Australians aged 17 to 35 and provides training in education, fitness, leadership and workplace skills.

The program also includes practical maritime exposure through training in Cairns and cultural immersion activities with local communities.

NIDP runs twice a year and offers a pathway into the Australian Defence Force or broader employment opportunities across Australia.

Graduates complete a TAFE Queensland course equivalent to Year 10 Mathematics and English, creating a foundation for further study or employment.

Minister for Defence Personnel, the Hon Matt Keogh MP: 

“The ADF’s most important capability is its people and an adaptable, resilient workforce that draws on a wide range of skills and experience is central to the strength of our Defence force.

“Over 22 weeks, this program is a springboard to success for First Nations Australians, whether that’s in the ADF or by bringing valuable skills back home to their communities.

“Today’s graduating class is a showcase for the opportunities this course opens up, with graduates going onto further training in a range of course from electronic warfare to logistics.

“Congratulations to all today’s graduates and good luck for the future.”

Deputy Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Darren Grogan, CSM, RAN.

“The Navy Indigenous Development Program proves that potential is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t always. The program delivers lasting benefits for individuals, their communities and Defence.

“These graduates have stepped forward, backed themselves and earned skills that set them up for whatever comes next, in our Navy, broader Defence and beyond.”

More information on the NIDP is at: Navy Indigenous Development Program – ADF Careers

The Australian Government has today lowered travel advice for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from ‘Do Not Travel’ (Level 4) to ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ (Level 3). Some areas within Israel remain ‘Do Not Travel’.

Australia welcomes the agreement between the United States and Iran and continues to encourage all parties to pursue a durable and lasting peace through dialogue and diplomacy.

The Albanese Government’s number one priority will always be the safety and security of Australians.

While the security situation across the Middle East could deteriorate rapidly with little warning, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has assessed current conditions in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE as appropriate to move to Level 3.

Level 3 remains a high threshold. We continue to urge Australians to postpone non-essential travel. ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ also means ‘reconsider your need to transit’. If you need to transit these locations, stay as short a time as possible and eliminate unnecessary activities.

The Department and Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to closely monitor the situation and keeps all Smartraveller travel advisories under review. Advice levels can go back up if conditions deteriorate. Australians should check Smartraveller.gov.au for detailed, up-to-date advice before travelling and subscribe for updates.

We also urge Australians planning to travel to make sure they have travel insurance and to closely read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for what is and isn’t covered. More information on travel insurance can be found here.

DFAT continues to advise ‘Do Not Travel’ to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen, and ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Australians who require consular assistance should contact DFAT’s 24/7 Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 (within Australia) or +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas).

The Victorian Greens have referred the Allan Labor Government’s public housing tower demolition program to the Ombudsman. 

The Greens are proposing that the Ombudsman investigate the treatment of residents and impact of relocations on residents’ wellbeing, the adequacy of alternative housing offered, the condition of towers awaiting demolition and whether relocation practices are compatible with residents’ human rights. 

The investigation would also specifically examine the impact on older Victorians living in public housing towers earmarked for demolition.

The Greens have made the referral to the Ombudsman and on Wednesday they will push to have the referral made a priority by moving a motion in Parliament. Ombudsman investigations referred directly by the Parliament are required to report within six months. 

The referral follows the Allan Labor Government’s response to the parliamentary inquiry into the redevelopment of Melbourne’s public housing towers where they supported only 4 of the 21 recommendations.

The inquiry found that the Victorian Labor Government engaged in “significant coercive and misleading practices to relocate residents within an arbitrary deadline, causing deep harm to social, emotional and physical wellbeing of the residents.”

The Greens say that if Labor won’t properly examine the consequences of its own decisions, then the Ombudsman should.

It comes as the Greens announce their plan to double the number of public homes and refurbish the existing public housing stock, saying that while Labor wants to tear down public housing in a housing crisis, the Greens want to build more of it. 

Victorian Greens housing spokesperson Gabrielle de Vietri:

“Labor wants to tear communities apart and trample on people’s rights. They don’t care what the experts say or what people think. We’ve had to send in the Ombudsman to hold Labor to account before they do irreparable damage.”

“The inquiry heard evidence of residents being pressured to relocate, deceived about their rights and fearful of losing their homes and communities. Those allegations are serious, but Labor’s response shows they haven’t taken them seriously.”

“This project has been a disaster from day one. In a housing crisis, Labor is tearing down good, affordable homes and replacing them with expensive private apartments. 

“Victoria already has the lowest proportion of public housing in the country. We need to be building more public housing.

“The Greens have pledged to double the number of public homes and refurbish the public housing we have so everyone has a safe affordable place to call home.” 

The Victorian Greens are demanding action to address Victoria’s dangerously overcrowded police cells and will today introduce a Bill to cease decanting to Parliament.

Victoria’s remand population has exploded drastically due to Labor’s changes to bail laws which the Greens say have not only been ineffective in improving community safety but have overwhelmed an ill-equipped and unprepared system. 

The Greens say that Labor chose to ignore the evidence and accused them of creating a dangerous and foreseeable crisis. 

Overcrowding in prisons has become so severe that people are being held in police cells and transported between police stations because there is nowhere else to detain them, overriding long-standing legal protections designed to prevent extended stays in police custody.

The Greens’ ‘Better Rights in Police Custody Bill’ would provide a mechanism to safely reduce the time a person can be held in police cells, cease decanting across different police stations, as well as ensuring those in police custody have the same rights to health care and visitors.

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) has warned that police, corrections and court systems are unprepared to deal with the consequences of the government’s bail laws and the growing number of people being held on remand.

The Victorian Police Association has also warned that it is only a matter of time before someone dies in police custody as a result of overcrowding and prolonged detention in police cells.

The Greens say these warnings are a stark reminder of the circumstances that led to the death in custody of Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Nelson, which the Coroner described as a “complete, unmitigated disaster”.

The Greens say Labor’s approach is making Victoria less safe and fuelling dangerous conditions that could lead to deaths in custody, and that we should be diverting resources into what actually reduces crime and reoffending. 

Victorian Greens justice spokesperson Katherine Copsey:

“Victorians are less safe because of the choices Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government has made.

“Labor ignored the evidence and ignored the warnings. Instead of investing in the things we know improve community safety, they chose reactionary politics and now we’re facing a dangerous overcrowding crisis in both police cells and prisons.

“Victoria’s prisons are overflowing, people are being warehoused in police cells and even police are warning it is only a matter of time before someone dies.

“Labor created this situation by ramming through harsher bail laws without any plan for the predictable surge in people being locked up.

“We need immediate action to reduce overcrowding and prevent deaths in custody, and we need the government to start investing in the things that actually make communities safer.”

Responding to Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address, Leader of the Australian Greens Larissa Waters said:

“Pauline Hanson’s incoherent hatred today offered nothing more than the same tired Islamophobia, transphobia, racism and protection racket for fossil fuels we’ve heard from her for decades.

“Pauline Hanson wants Australians angry, divided and scared of our neighbours. It’s an ugly and racist distraction from her servitude of the same billionaires and corporate superprofits as the major parties.

“One Nation opposes wage increases for workers and opposes a 25% tax on gas exports. One Nation looks after corporate superprofits, not people.

“Attacking multiculturalism and pedalling islamophobia and transphobia won’t fix the housing or cost of living crisis.

“One Nation will not change the system any more than Labor or the Liberals will. 

“Every party in the country except the Greens is bleeding votes to One Nation. The major parties are in decline, and we have an opportunity for real change. But One Nation wants more of the same.

“If people want a fair go in Australia, they need to vote for the only party that puts people ahead of profits: The Greens.

There is absolutely no place for hate and division in Victoria. 

Pauline Hanson and her billionaire-backers want to use Victorians for their own political ambitions and to protect their own profits – but the Greens are here to stand in her way.

Our message to all Victorians, and especially to First Nations, migrant communities, trans communities, refugees and asylum seekers and all people of colour, is this: the Greens are with you.

We won’t let the rhetoric from Pauline Hanson’s address yesterday become the norm in Victoria where our diversity is our strength. 

We also cannot be distracted from why this is happening in the first place. 

One Nation hasn’t come out of nowhere. They are a symptom of the major parties’ failure to listen to people and take action on the housing and cost of living crises, while letting billionaires and big corporations make record profits at the expense of everyday working Victorians.

Labor and the Liberals have ignored people for too long. The system isn’t working for people and people are fed up.

But let’s be clear, One Nation is controlled by, and works for, the same big corporations and vested interests as the major parties. Swapping one corporate-controlled party for another won’t fix anything.

Yesterday proved that One Nation won’t fix anything, they only offer someone to blame. 

One Nation wants to distract us from who caused these problems in the first place: the big corporations and vested interests, and the political parties who help them.

While One Nation wants to divide people, The Greens are bringing people together. 

Every week hundreds of Greens volunteers are out in the community, having conversations, face to face with people, and building collective power ahead of the November election.

The Greens have had a groundswell of new volunteers sign up in just a matter of weeks. 

Fighting back starts with coming together.

The Albanese Government has delivered on its election commitment to open an additional 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics with the final clinic opening in Caloundra, Queensland today.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are providing cost of living relief, helping families access healthcare without the cost, providing free Medicare-backed care close to home.

The opening is a historic milestone meaning all 137 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics promised by the Government are now operating around the country.

Clinics provide free Medicare-backed care for urgent, but not life-threatening, illnesses and injuries. No appointment needed. No out-of-pocket costs. And they are here to stay.

The Albanese Government delivered a major Medicare investment in the Budget, making Medicare Urgent Care Clinics a permanent part of Australia’s health system.

The significant health measure includes an additional $1.8 billion over five years from 2025-26 and $525.6 million a year ongoing from 2030-31 to keep Medicare Urgent Care Clinics open and free.

There have been more than 3.1 million visits to Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Australia since the first one opened in June 2023, with projections to deliver 2 million instances of care per year with all clinics now open.

More than one in four of these presentations were patients aged under 15 years old, more than one in four were on weekends, and one in four were after 5pm on weekdays when many GPs are not available.

A recent interim evaluation report of the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics Program found:  

• Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are achieving their purpose in delivering urgent care services and reducing equivalent Emergency Department presentations by around 10% nationally.
• 45% of patients reported that they would have sought care in an Emergency Department or called an ambulance if the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic was not available. This increased to 48% in the afterhours period.
• Patients are satisfied with the care they receive, and staff enjoy the variety of working across both general practice and urgent care.

With the opening of the final clinic, four out of five Australians will now live within a 20-minute drive of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.

The Caloundra Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will be the 26th clinic to open in Queensland, located at Shop 1, Little Mountain Central Shopping Centre, 65 Pierce Avenue, Little Mountain.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics help patients get the care they need for free and ease pressure on hospitals.

“Now that all of Labor’s clinics are open, four in five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a bulk billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.

“When you go to an Urgent Care Clinic, all you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.”

Minister Butler

“Labor promised an additional 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics at the last election and our Government has delivered on that promise.

“Across Australia, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are fulfilling their promise by making sure Australians can walk in and receive urgent care quickly and for free, seven days a week over extended hours.

“They are making a real difference, for patients and for busy hospital emergency departments. More clinics, in more locations, and all patients need is their Medicare card.”

Senator Mulholland

“The Albanese Government is delivering for people in Caloundra with the opening of the Caloundra Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.

“This clinic will be a game changer in an area of high population growth, particularly young families.

“All people in Caloundra and the surrounding region will need is their Medicare card, not their credit card, to get the urgent care they need.”

Every day early educators help children learn, grow and get ready for school.

It’s one of the most important jobs in the country and they should be paid fairly for that work.

That’s why the Albanese Government funded a 15 per cent pay rise for Early Education and Care Workers.

Today, the Albanese Government is investing a further $3.6 billion over the next two years to lock in this historic 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators.

This investment will be tied to a commitment from Child Care Centres to limit fee increases. We want to make sure workers can be fairly paid without the costs being passed on to families.

When combined with our support for minimum wage rises, this will mean $255 more per week for a typical full-time educator and $410 more per week for early childhood teachers, compared to December 2024 when the Government first implemented the pay rise.

For the first time employees in the Family Day Care and In-Home Care sectors will also be eligible for the payment, starting from July. More information on applications and criteria will be available soon.

Keeping costs for families down

This funding will continue to be tied to a commitment from services receiving the payment to limit fee increases for parents.

We are making sure workers can be fairly paid without the costs being passed on to families.

That’s helping to ease cost-of-living pressure while delivering better early learning for children.

This is part of the Albanese Government’s work to make early education and care more affordable, more accessible and high quality.

We also introduced the 3 Day Guarantee this year to make sure every child who needs it is eligible for three days of subsidised early learning each week, no matter what their parents do.

Strengthening safety

The Government will now require services to meet the national safety standard as a condition of the payment.

Today 95 per cent of early learning services are meeting the safety standard, more than ever before, but we want that number to be higher.

From July 2027, if services don’t meet the National Quality Standard when it comes to safety, their funding will be cut or suspended.

Parents deserve confidence that their child is safe in care.

If a service is not meeting the standard that parents expect and children deserve, it risks this funding being cut off.

This requirement builds on the Albanese Government’s reforms to strengthen safety in early education and care.

More educators, lower costs

The payment has worked to bolster our early educator workforce and keep costs for families down.

Since it was announced: 

• There are around 20,000 more ECEC workers, about an 8 per cent increase.
• Job vacancies in early education have decreased by almost 31 per cent.
• Fees at centres receiving the payment have grown at around half the rate of centres that don’t.
• The percentage of services operating with a staffing waiver has fallen from 8.9 per cent to 5.1 per cent.
• Use of casual staff by Australia’s largest child care provider, Goodstart Early Learning, fell by 5 per cent and use of agency staff decreased by 69 per cent in the first year of the program.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“Early educators help give our children the best start in life.

“They do incredibly important work and they deserve to be fairly paid for it.

“Only child care centres who agree to limit their fees for parents will be eligible to receive funding for this wage increase for workers.

“We’re making child care more affordable, lifting standards and backing the people who help shape the next generation of Australians.”

Minister for Education Jason Clare

“This is good news for workers and it’s good news for families.

“Caring for and teaching kids is some of the most important work in the country.

“Our early educators deserve every cent they get and this funding locks their pay rise in.

“The payment has worked to bring more people into the early education workforce and to keep costs down for families.

“Turns out if you pay people more, more people want to do the job.

“Over the last year, working with the states and territories, we’ve done a lot to strengthen safety in early education and care.

“We’re taking the next step today, tying this funding to safety standards.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our kids.

“This will help to make sure safety and quality in early education is what parents expect and what our children deserve.”

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth

“Early childhood educators deserve more than our thanks, they deserve a pay rise.

“The Albanese Labor Government changed Australia’s workplace laws to deliver pay rises for early educators and to allow more multi-employer bargaining, especially in undervalued, feminised sectors of the economy like early education.

“Our Government has consistently advocated for a minimum wage rise and for undervalued workers to earn what they deserve and this has led to full-time early childhood educators typically earning $410 more per week.”

Minister for Early Childhood Education Jess Walsh

“For too long, our early childhood educators were underpaid, undervalued and overlooked. 

“And as a result, they were walking out the door.

“With the Albanese Labor Government’s 15 per cent pay rise, we’re seeing that turn around.

“This helps create a long-term stable workforce, and that strengthens the whole sector.

“Today’s announcement is the foundation of our reforms to improve quality in early education and care and to make it more affordable for families by properly valuing our early educators.”

The Albanese Government is today announcing further implementation details for its tax reform package, following an intensive first round of post-Budget consultation.

Our tax reforms are all about making it easier for Australians to buy their first home, cutting taxes for workers, and better aligning the tax treatment of labour and asset income, and this is reflected in the core legislation before the Senate.

The details we’re announcing today are all about providing more clarity and confidence to investors, more support for small businesses, and more incentives for innovation. 

We are announcing further CGT concessions today for small businesses and startups, and retaining the original intent of our policies.

This means all 2.7 million active small businesses and 98 per cent of all active businesses will be eligible for generous CGT concessions.

Having completed a substantial amount of the consultation we flagged in the Budget papers, we’re now releasing a consultation paper on startups while we also provide further implementation details around our tax reforms, including: 

• Announcing an increase to the turnover threshold for the existing small business 50 per cent active asset CGT reduction from $2 million to $10 million. This will mean all 2.7 million active small businesses and 98% of all active businesses will be eligible for this concession.
• Releasing a consultation paper on the design of a new Innovative Business CGT Concession that would provide a 50 per cent CGT discount to early-stage investors including founders and employee share scheme participants of innovative start-up businesses.
• Confirming that income from all types of testamentary trusts will be exempt from the minimum tax, including future discretionary testamentary trusts, with implementation details included in further consultation.
• Confirming amendments will be made to the legislation in the Senate rather than in legislative instruments, to provide certainty on as much of the implementation details of the Government’s tax reforms as possible.

These details mean the Albanese Government is now delivering over $3.8 billion in new measures that lower taxes for businesses and start-ups, on top of the fourth and fifth rounds of tax cuts for workers and a fairer housing market for first home buyers.

Small businesses concessions

As outlined in the Budget, the Government will retain the existing four small business CGT concessions which allow small businesses to reduce, defer or completely eliminate their capital gains tax liability when they sell active business assets. 

We are extending the eligibility of the 50 per cent active asset reduction to more businesses by increasing the turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million.

This brings eligibility for this concession into line with the turnover threshold for the instant asset write off and will mean that all 2.7 million active small business and 98 per cent of active businesses will be eligible for a 50 per cent CGT discount on active business assets, on top of the discount for inflation where eligible once these reforms are in place. 

The Government will introduce amendments to the legislation currently before the Senate to give effect to this change.

Consultation on arrangements for innovative start-ups

The Government is today releasing a consultation paper on the design of a 50 per cent CGT discount for early-stage investors including founders and employee share scheme participants of innovative start-up businesses. 

The Innovative Business CGT Concession will provide individuals, partnerships and trusts holding eligible shares a choice between a 50 per cent discount or indexation and the minimum tax for gains accrued from 1 July 2027.

Subject to further consultation, eligible shares must be new equity issued by a company that is under 10 years old (or under 15 years in certain circumstances), under $50 million in turnover and meets principles-based innovation criteria, and must be held for five years before being sold, with a lifetime cap on the concession.

This will ensure that early investors in innovative start-ups that start with a low or zero cost base still receive a significant discount on a future capital gain, supporting the continued growth of Australia’s start-up and venture capital ecosystem.

The Government will consider expanding eligibility to 15 years for start-ups in sectors such as biotech and medtech that can take longer to commercialise.

Consultation is open until 10 July and will inform the final design, to be implemented in a later tranche of tax reform legislation. The paper will be available on the Treasury website.

These measures build on the existing significant measures to support business risk taking and investment in the Budget, including two-year loss carry back, loss refundability for start-ups, expanded venture capital incentives, and making the $20,000 instant asset write off permanent.

The additional support for small business has an indicative cost of $300 million over the forward estimates and brings the total new tax measures to support businesses in the tax reform package to over $3.8 billion. The proposed arrangements for start-ups have an indicative cost of $125 million over the forward estimates. Financial impacts will be finalised in the next Budget update in the usual way, following consultation.

Amendments to the legislation

The Government will make targeted amendments to the legislation currently before the Parliament, removing ministerial powers to provide certainty on as much of the implementation details as possible. 

The Government intends to move the following amendments in the next sitting fortnight, subject to parliamentary negotiations:

• Extend the eligibility of the 50 per cent active asset reduction to more businesses by increasing the turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million.
• Ensure deductible gift and donations reduce capital gains that are subject to the minimum tax, to maintain tax incentives in relation to charitable giving. 
• Provide the list of income support payments that qualify for an exemption from the minimum tax on capital gains. 
• Embed the calculation method for the Working Australians Tax Offset in legislation. 
• Remove ministerial powers no longer needed to give effect to the Government’s policy intent.

The Government also intends to remove ministerial discretion in relation to the following aspects of the Bill, with legislation to be introduced later this year following consultation:  

• Definition of new builds that are eligible to choose a 50 per cent discount on gains accrued from 1 July 2027, and eligible to access negative gearing for properties purchased after 12 May 2026, consistent with the details outlined in the Budget. 
• Definition of the types of housing investment exempt from the limits on negative gearing, including affordable housing.

The definition of new builds and housing investment exemptions will be moved into primary legislation in a future tranche of tax reform legislation. Final details, including treatment of certain types of accommodation and housing investment, will be subject to consultation. 

These details reflect the targeted consultations and engagements undertaken since the release of the Budget, consistent with the Government’s commitment to engage with stakeholders on implementation.

Trusts reform and other elements of the tax reform package

The Government will continue to develop further tranches of legislation to implement the Budget tax reform package, consistent with the process for legislating other large tax reform packages in the past.

This will include the release of a consultation paper on implementation of the minimum tax on discretionary trusts in the coming weeks which will provide further details on the proposed implementation approach.

In response to targeted consultation following the Budget, the Government will exempt income from all types of discretionary testamentary trusts from the minimum tax provided they are established for genuine testamentary purposes.

The exclusion will be limited to income from assets of the deceased estate. For discretionary testamentary trusts established on or after 1 July 2028, the exclusion will only apply to trusts that can only benefit individuals and income tax exempt entities.  

We have been clear that there is no tax on inheritances or deceased estates but we are taking this step to put this beyond doubt.

This exemption has an indicative cost of $50 million over the forward estimates. Financial impacts will be finalised in the next Budget update in the usual way, following consultation.

In addition, the Government will next week introduce legislation to give effect to our reforms that make loss carry back and the instant asset write off for small business permanent.

We are grateful to the individuals and organisations that have engaged with the Government on these issues in good faith since the release of the Budget and also acknowledge the work of the Senate Economics Legislation Committee and submissions made to its inquiry process.

The Albanese Labor Government’s tax reform agenda is all about making it easier for Australians to buy their first home, cutting taxes for workers, and better aligning the tax treatment of labour and asset income, and that’s the focus of the legislation we’re putting before the Parliament.

The details outlined today will provide further clarity and confidence to investors, more support for small businesses and increase incentives for innovation.