Australia

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Key Announcements

Welcome to the LexisNexis 2011 Federal Budget news centre.
This year, key highlights of the Federal Labor Government's 2011 Federal Budget include:

- Getting the budget back in the black by 2012-2013
- $22 billion in savings outlined
- $558 million to deliver tailored, quality training places through the National Workforce Development Fund
- Ambitious reform of the vocational education and training system, with a further $1.75 billion on offer to partner with the States and Territories
- A range of measures to boost participation, by rewarding work, providing new opportunities through training, education and services, and introducing new requirements for some groups Infrastructure
$36 billion in investment in roads, rail and ports, including $1 billion in funding for the duplication of the Pacific Highway
- Removing tax impediments to infrastructure investment in better hospitals and health care
- Delivering on the commitment to provide at least $16.4 billion in additional hospital growth funding guaranteed to the states from 2014-15
- $2.2 billion over five years delivering on national mental health reform
- $717 million to expand access to diagnostic imaging services and make medicines more affordable
- $53 million to improve access to public dental services, particularly for people on low incomes Making every school a great school
- $425 million to reward for top performing teachers

>>	LATEST NEWS: Read up-to-the-minute budget updates and industry live from Canberra

RELATED VIDEOS: How will the budget announcements affect your industry?

Key announcements by area

Law
Key announcements:

- $4 million dollars over four years under the Strategic Framework for Access to Justice initiative

- Legal Aid and community legal centres will be asked to develop online initiatives, ultilising the NBN to improve access to justice for regional areas

- Funding cuts to International Criminal Court

- $6.1 million in funding for the High Court

- $2.9 million over four years for Australian Human Rights Commission to restore the Race and Disability Discrimination Commissioners and establish Age Discrimination Commissioner

>> Read More

Environment

Key announcements: The budget has brought a boost for the renewable energy sector, with funding for the Emerging Renewables program, increased from $40 million to $100 million.; and funding for the $100 million Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund out to 2023-24 to assist early-stage renewable energy companies.

However, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet has also announced that the National Solar Schools Program, which has assisted more than 2,600 schools, will close in June 2013, two years earlier than previously scheduled. Combet announced that savings from this will be directed to new proposals including funding for energy efficiency, greenhouse and energy reporting, and the Solar Cities programs, which hs been allocated $13.7 million in additional funding over two years to support seven Solar Cities: Adelaide, Alice Springs, Blacktown, Central Victoria, Moreland, Perth and Townsville - which will be trialling new sustainable models for electricity supply and use.

Other annoucements include:
- $84.2 million over four years for the continuation and expansion of the Environmental Stewardship Program to continue to protect Australia’s unique biodiversity.
>> Read More

Family And Community Services

Key announcements:
- $92.8 million over four years in new requirements for disability support pensioners to increase their workforce participation, including $30.4 million in additional employment benefits

- $147 million to help families with early intervention services for eligible children with disability

- $5.4 billion to the States for recovery from recent disasters

- Tax assistance to assist households with the cost of living

- New self service, online options and more mobile and outreach services for Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support
>> Read More

Housing

Key announcements:

- $150 million for new investments to encourage outer suburban employment precincts, planning support for future growth & housing in regional Australia & sustainability needs

- $5.4 billion to the States for infrastructure recovery from recent disasters & to kickstart regional economies

- A national urban police for a sustainable future

>> Read More

Superannuation

Key announcements:
Reforms self-managed superannuation funds: including the introduction of a new administrative penalty framework, registration of fund auditors subject to competency and independence standards, improved data collection and improvements to the self managed superannuation fund registration process.
From 2010-11 to 2014-15, the ATO will be provided with $40.2 million and ASIC with $8.4 million. The increased funding will be fully offset by a $30 increase to the self managed superannuation fund levy, from $150 to $180, with effect from the 2010-11 income year, and by the collection of fund auditor registration fees.

Changes to Super Co-Contributions: Individuals the option to take excess concessional contributions out of their superannuation fund and have it assessed at their marginal rate of tax, rather than incurring a potentially higher rate of excess contributions tax.

>> Read More

Education
Key announcements: Education has seen significant investment in this year's budget, with $1.2 billion over the next four years to fund growth in university enrolments, as well as $425 million to rewards for top performing teachers, $200 million to support school students with disability, $222 million for chaplaincy and wellbeing support in over 3,500 schools, as well as vocational education and training system to the tune of $1.75 billion on offer to partner with the States and Territories.

>> Read More

Employment

Key announcements: The Government has earmarked over $3 billion over six years in its "Building Australia's Future Workforce" package, which will focus on developing stronger relations between industry and training organisations, modernising apprenticeships programs and reforming the national training system.

Highlights of the package include:
- a $674 million boost to improve higher education, training and employment outcomes in regional Australia.
- A $558 million National Workforce Development Fund which is expected to develop around 130,000 quality training places tailored to the needs of different industries and regions
- and a $526.6 million boost to education, employment and health services for Indigenous Australians

Additionally, the Government has designated $8.5 billion over the next four years which include improvements to the current Job Services Australia and Disability Employment Services.

The Government has also said it will work with industry and state governments to deliver new 334,000 training oportunities over the next four years.

In an attempt to address the ongoing skills shortage, the Government has also flagged an increase in skilled migration, as well as new Enterprise Migration Agreements (EMAs) allowing major resource projects to gain access to overseas labour for genuine skills vacancies.

>> Read More

Health and Ageing

Key announcements:

- $2.2 billion over five years to deliver national mental health reform, including mental health investments, prevention & early intervention for children and young people, suicide prevention initiatives

- $1.8 billion to improve health services in regional and rural communities

- $220.3 million over five years to strengthening primary care

- $526.6 million to improve education, employment and health services for Indigenous Australians

>> Read More

Infrastructure

Key announcements:
- Enhancing the role of Infrastructure Australia (IA).
- Establishing special tax provisions to improve certainty for private sector investment in nationally significant projects.
- Enhancing the transparency of planning, implementation and evaluation of infrastructure projects.
>> Read More

Taxation

Key announcements:
- Removing the unintended tax incentive for people to drive more than they need to in order to obtain a larger

tax concession
- Improving small business tax rules by replacing the ETO with a small business tax package that includes a

$5,000 immediate deduction for motor vehicles
- Improving certainty for investors by allowing infrastructure projects of national significance to carry

forward losses with an uplift factor to maintain their value
- Increasing support for families by increasing Family Tax Benefit Part A payments for 16 to 19 year olds

>> Read More

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