There are a raft of changes coming to welfare, real estate, health and other living expenses from July 1, 2023. We find out what they are and how they will affect Australians.
Age pension is changing:
From July 1, Australia will have to wait until they turn 67 to be eligible for the age pension. This is an increase from the current 66 years and six months. However, you can submit your claim in the 13 weeks before you reach Age Pension age.
Some people’s pensions will rise by more than $100 a fortnight, while others will become eligible for a part pension for the first time. Retirees already receiving a full age pension will be unaffected.
Superannuation:
The super guarantee is the proportion of wages that employers must contribute to their workers’ retirement savings. It’s gone up again this year.
The superannuation guarantee will increase from 10.5 per cent to 11 per cent. It will continue to rise by 0.5 per cent on July 1 each year until it reaches 12 per cent in 2025.
National minimum wage:
According to The Daily Telegraph, nearly 200,000 of Australia’s lowest-paid workers will receive a historic 8.6 per cent pay rise following a decision by the industrial umpire to lift minimum and award wages.
Workers on the national minimum wage will have their weekly minimum pay jump by about $70 a week, from $812.60 to $882.90, while their hourly rate will rise to $21.38 to $23.23.
Working from home:
The fixed rate method for calculating your deduction for working from home expenses has been revised. From July 1, the fixed rate method is 67 cents per work hour. Previously, the fixed rate method was 52 cents per hour.
First home owner schemes:
The eligibility criteria for the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme has been expanded. This includes the First Home Guarantee, Regional First Home Guarantee and Family Home Guarantee.
From tomorrow, friends, siblings and other family members will be able to jointly apply for the First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Guarantee. These schemes will also be available to non-first home buyers who have not owned a property in the past 10 years.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Transfer Duty exemption for first home buyers will increase from $650,000 to $800,000. As part of the changes to the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, concessions will be increased from $800,000 up to $1 million.
That means if you pay up to $800,000 for your first property and are an eligible First Home Buyer, you won’t have to pay any Transfer Duty. If your first property costs between $800,000 and $1 million, the concession will apply and you will only have to pay a portion of Transfer Duty.
Cheaper child care:
From July 1, families earning less than $530,000 will be eligible for increased childcare subsidy. Rates would be lifted for every family with one child in care earning less than $530,000 in household income, and higher subsidy rates for second and additional children in care would be kept.
Unemployment, Youth, Student and Disability support payments:
The Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, Austudy, Abstudy, and the Disability Support payments will increase by $40 a fortnight or $2.80 per day. That means, the fortnightly payment for a single person with no children will increase to more than $730 from September.
The age limit for a higher Jobseeker rate will be dropped from 60 to 55 in recognition of the fact it is harder for older people to find work.
Sources: ABC, The Daily Telegraph
