The start of a new financial year means a raft of changes are now in effect — from wage and super increases to cost-of-living relief measures.
A variety of new federal and state-specific laws also came into force overnight.
Super & wages
Employer superannuation contributions have risen from 11.5% to 12%.
This means more money going into your super fund, but no change to your take-home pay.
The only exception is if your contract specifies a salary inclusive of super, but that’s relatively uncommon.
The minimum wage has increased 3.5% to $24.95 an hour. Roughly three million workers covered by awards (industry-specific pay and conditions) will see the minimum pay increase flow through to their payslips as well.
Cost of Living
The Federal Government has extended the energy discount until the end of the year, meaning your next two household energy bills will be automatically discounted by $75 each.
The paid parental leave entitlement has now increased to 24 weeks, up from the current limit of 22 weeks. This will increase again to 26 weeks next year.
Superannuation will also start being paid on top of parental leave, but parents won’t see these payments until July 2026 (when they’ll receive a lump sum for the previous year.)
Students
Nursing, midwifery, teaching, and social work students will now be paid for their mandatory practical placements.
Students will be eligible for $331.65 a week to address “placement poverty” concerns.
Some placements can take months to complete, with teachers required to spend around 600 hours (16 weeks) in a classroom.
Trainee nurses must complete about 800 hours (20 weeks) in a hospital or clinic.
Crime
The ACT has become the country’s first jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 (from 12), with exceptions for 12 and 13-year-olds accused of particularly violent crimes.
NSW and Victoria have introduced a mandatory tobacco licensing scheme. Tobacconist retailers and wholesalers now have to apply for a licence to continue selling, or face heavy fines.
Victoria has introduced a 40km/h speed limit for drivers passing roadside workers, or stationary/slow-moving vehicles, to protect emergency response and roadside assistance workers.
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Election Donations
New rules for election donations are now in effect in Tasmania, ahead of a snap election on 19 July.
From today, any donations to a political candidate or party must be made to a specific bank account, which can only be used for that purpose. Campaign spending can only come from that account, too.
It means, for example, that every Labor candidate up for election is drawing on the one account.
Any donations have to be declared within seven days.
Social Housing
Queensland has introduced new public housing eligibility checks to confirm if tenants “still meet income thresholds”.
Income limits vary between households, but a single person without children must earn below $609 per week to be eligible for public housing in the state.
Households that don’t provide the required information, or whose income exceeds the threshold, will be charged market rent “while they are supported to transition to other housing options,” the Qld Government said.
Changes for renters
The NSW Government has introduced improved protections for the state’s two million renters.
‘No fault’ evictions were banned in NSW last month, prohibiting landlords from ending a lease without giving their tenant a reason.
From today, landlords/agents must now also register the reason for any evictions (and provide supporting evidence) with the NSW Government’s Department of Fair Trading.
A summary of eviction reasons will be made public once a year.
Changes for owners
NSW strata reforms mean it’s now easier for apartment/townhouse owners to obtain approval for minor renovations and install accessibility infrastructure.
There are also stricter rules for developers and processes to improve transparency in strata management.
A levy on short-term holiday rentals is now in effect in the ACT. Booking service providers like Airbnb will be required to pay a 5% fee of the total booking amount on reservations of 28 days or less.
Direct bookings with an owner or occupier are not subject to the levy.
