Have you checked your pay slip recently? If you haven’t, it’s worth having a quick look.

Because on 1 July every single Australian taxpayer got a tax cut that’s now flowing through to your pay slip.

The Government knows that people are doing it tough, dealing with the cost of living. Helping Australians manage that has been our number one priority since we came to Government.

It’s why we’ve delivered cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, energy bill relief, fee-free TAFE and got wages moving again in our first two years.

Our latest Budget builds on that work, with measures to assist on a number of fronts.

As part of the Budget all 13.6 million Australian taxpayers will benefit that tax cut I just mentioned. It adds up to an average of $1,888 a year. That’s an extra $1,888 in your pocket.

There’s also $300 energy bill relief for all Australian households and $325 for 1 million small businesses.

Commonwealth Rent Assistance has increased for nearly 1 million households and more than three million Australians had $3 billion in student debt waived.

There are now cheaper medicines. Superannuation is going to be paid on Paid Parental Leave, allowing parents, particularly women, to keep the connection with their employer, their job and their career while caring for their newborn. And there is more funding for emergency and food relief and financial support services.

There is also provisioning for higher wages for aged care and child care workers, and we’re extending the freeze on deeming rates for 876,000 income support recipients.

And after our independent review into the Food and Grocery Code, overseen by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh, we’re working to get consumers a fairer deal at the supermarket checkout.

But I want to mention a few other things that may be available to you. Bits and pieces that you may not know about, but which can have a big impact.

In my community of Moonee Ponds, I have an office where staff assist members of the public every day of the week.

We help people connect with government services and initiatives – from immigration to emergency relief to assistance with the National Disability Insurance Agency.

But we also offer the community the chance to access programs that can help their budget.

I’ll give you a few examples.

My office has hosted two Seniors Morning Teas in the last nine months, with roughly 200 attendees at each event. I got to chat with older neighbours and got lots of questions related to my Government Services portfolio.

Services Australia also sent along officers who specialise in Aged Care and in retirement financial advice. They offered information and organised appointments at the local Services Australia centre to discuss the seniors’ issues in greater detail.

I held a similar event for small business owners where the 70 attendees heard from the Hon Bruce Billson, the Small Business Ombudsman. 

It was a great opportunity to not only hear from them on their experiences but tell them about the Government’s small business initiatives which can improve their bottom line. From the $20,000 instant asset write-off, to helping small businesses compete for and win more government contracts, to improving payment times for small businesses.[i]

My office also successfully applied for a grant under Albanese Labor Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program, on behalf of our neighbourhood.

This is a $200 million initiative to install 420 community batteries around Australia, as part of a shared solar storage scheme.

The community battery in our backyard feeds power back into the electricity grid. With renewable energy now being the cheapest form available, that means our community is helping to lower electricity bills not only for themselves but people around the state.

Then there’s the Tax Help Program. This is a free program run jointly with the ATO and my office which we’ve been involved in since 2010.

People from the area who earn less than $60,000 a year can make an appointment through our office to see an accredited accountant who, on a voluntary basis, assists people to lodge their tax returns online. This helps them maximise their tax rebate.

And for families with school-aged children, there is the fantastic School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI). This is an Albanese Labor Government Initiative to support families who do not have access to the internet at home.

This program recognises how hard that makes it for kids to study and provides free internet to their families.

The SSBI is managed by Anglicare Victoria, but my office sends a letter out annually to each school in our community to provide information on the initiative. We then help students and their families with their applications. Thirty thousand families currently benefit from this program nationally.

And another possible way to put money in your pocket is by updating your Medicare details.

The Government is sitting on $236 million in unpaid Medicare benefits because we don’t have everybody’s up-to-date information.

The average amount being held is $250 but some people are owed more than $10,000!

And guess which age-group is owed the most? The 18 – 24 year olds, so tell your family and friends to take a couple of minutes to check their details via the myGov phone app or website.

As you can see there are lots of different ways the Albanese Government supports Australians in various aspects of their life.

I’ve only mentioned a few here that are available to the people I have the honour to represent in Canberra, but I encourage you to get in touch with your own local member and ask how they can assist you in finding the support you are entitled to.

Because, as we know, every little bit helps.

Published in The West Australian Friday 2 August 2024