Cost of living relief for low-income households and big boosts for the health system and skills training have headlined South Australia’s state budget.
Announcing a forecast surplus of $306 million for 2023/24, Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said the strong economy had boosted government coffers, meaning it could deliver cost-of-living relief to those who need it most.
A $248 million surplus is predicted for 2024/25.
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“This is a budget specifically designed to make sure that our state can secure the full benefits of all the transformative economic developments that are heading our way, but it’s also a budget which responds to the challenges that confront us today,” he said.
Strong revenue underpinned by payroll tax, stamp duty and land tax has put the government in an enviable position.
There are no new taxes, no public service job cuts and most fees and charges are indexed by 3 per cent.
Stamp duty has been abolished for all eligible first-home buyers.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said it was a budget that delivered cost-of-living support to South Australians now, while building for the future.
“We’re building the housing, skills, education and health system needed to support a growing economy, which will soon be building the most complex machines on earth,” he said, referencing the AUKUS submarines which will be built in Adelaide.
There is $25.6 billion in infrastructure funding over four years, with $7 billion across the forward estimates for the River Torrens to Darlington road project to complete the city’s North-South transport corridor.
A further $3.2 billion has been put aside for the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, expected to be completed by June 2031.
Those projects will contribute to government debt increasing by $16.3 billion over the next four years to $44.2 billion in 2027/28, but Mullighan said he was comfortable it was at an affordable and sustainable level for the state.
A record housing budget of $843 million includes $576 million to redevelop government land at Seaton in the western suburbs and at Noarlunga Downs in the south, to deliver more than 1900 homes.
Malinauskas said the government was putting money in the pockets of our most vulnerable “at the time they most need it”.
A one-off cost of living payment of $243.90 will be paid to concession cardholders at a cost of $51.5 million, benefiting 210,000 households.
Eligible tenants and seniors cardholders will also have their annual cost-of-living payments doubled to this amount.
The wider cost-of-living package of $266 million also includes reductions in charges and an expansion of the $100 school sports vouchers program to cover music lessons.
There is an extra $2.5 billion over five years for the health system, including $1.6 billion to cover higher costs and $742 million for increased hospital demand.
The government expects to have added 330 new hospital beds by the end of 2025.
Skills funding will increase by 43 per cent to $692 million over the next five years, including $275 million for 160,000 training places, prioritising future skills required in areas such as defence and health.
“We need to create a high-quality trained workforce to deliver the huge projects we will be undertaking, including AUKUS and the hydrogen plant,” Mullighan said.
There is $715 million over five years to deliver preschool for three-year-olds in South Australia, with the rollout to begin in 2026.
“It is impossible not to feel a degree of disconnect between how investing in a three-year-old can actually make a difference to people’s standard of living, but believe me, it does,” Mr Malinauskas said.
SA budget winners and losers
Winners
- Families: $600 for school materials and sports voucher grants
- Concession cardholders: One-off payment of $243.90
- Tenants and seniors health cardholders: One-off payment doubled to $255.60.
- First-home buyers: $15k grant and stamp duty relief for new homes and builds.
- Future parents: Three-year-olds preschool rollout from 2026.
- SAPOL: Additional resources to see more police redeployed to front line.
- General practitioners: Exempt from payroll tax.
Losers
- Child protection: No new funding.
- Aboriginal Arts Centre: No funding
- Households and businesses: 2023 power bill support scrapped.