{"id":651825,"date":"2026-05-05T20:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/651825\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:40:16","slug":"winners-and-losers-from-this-years-state-budget-including-families-motorists-and-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/651825\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners and losers from this year’s state budget, including families, motorists and taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Victorian<\/a> government has unveiled its pre-election budget, delivering its first operating surplus in seven years under the promise of “a household with a bit more room at the end of the week”.<\/p>\n

Treasurer Jaclyn Symes commended her second budget to parliament today, committing to lowering cost-of-living pressures on families and shrinking Victoria’s debt as a percentage of the economy over the forward estimate.<\/p>\n

In her address, Symes acknowledged financial security no longer comes down to working hard and vowed to provide “real help, right now”.<\/p>\n

\"VictorianVictorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes has unveiled her state budget. (Joe Armao\/The Age)<\/p>\n

“For a long time in this country, there’s been this basic deal,” Symes said.<\/p>\n

“That if you work hard, do the right thing, and look after your family… you’ll have the opportunity to build a decent life.<\/p>\n

“But for too many Victorians, particularly families, that basic bargain no longer feels secure.”<\/p>\n

With nearly all of the commitments announced in the lead-up to budget day, surprise sweeteners were nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n

State debt continues to loom as a razor-sharp thorn in the Allan government’s side as Labor vies to secure a fourth term in November.<\/p>\n

Net debt is expected to nudge $200 billion by the 2029-30 financial year.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Here are the winners and losers of this year’s Victorian budget.<\/p>\n

This year’s budget pledges “a cheaper trip to work. A lower rego bill. A child getting to school for free. A family saving money on dental care, glasses, kinder or energy bills”.<\/p>\n

Victorians can claim a 20 per cent cash back on vehicle registration, providing up to $186 back per driver, in a mammoth $750 million spend.<\/p>\n

\"PublicCommuters will continue to benefit from free public transport until the end of the month, before fares are halved for the remainder of the year. (Paul Rovere)<\/p>\n

Commuters will continue to benefit from free public transport until the end of the month, before fares are halved for the remainder of the year.<\/p>\n

Public transport fares will also continue to be waived for children, under an initiative announced in last year’s budget and effective from January 1.<\/p>\n

Some $100 million has been thrown at more bus services across pockets of the state, and $673 million will go towards bringing in 25 new X’Trapolis 2.0 trains.<\/p>\n

Families can continue to access free kinder for their little ones.<\/p>\n

More than $760 million has been pledged for new or expanded schools, with another $294 million for upgrades of existing facilities.<\/p>\n

That’s expected to encompass four new school builds, 31 school upgrades and funding for three new TAFE centres.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Students with disabilities will be assisted with $2.2 billion for improved accessibility, additional specialist staff and teacher training.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"\"\/More than $760 million has been pledged for new or expanded schools, with another $294 million for upgrades of existing facilities. (Getty)<\/p>\n

A suite of hospital announcements includes $95 million to open the upgraded Werribee Mercy Hospital Emergency Department, which will help treat 25,000 more patients.<\/p>\n

Some $44.8 million will be allocated to the redeveloped Angliss Hospital.<\/p>\n

The long-awaited Pakenham Community Hospital will receive $19 million to support its opening.<\/p>\n

Another $87.2 million will go towards the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Craigieburn hospitals to open or expand services.<\/p>\n

The government has thrown $95 million to open the upgraded Werrribee Mercy Hospital ED, allowing treatment of 25,000 more patients every year.<\/p>\n

Sick Victorian children will be supported by a $50.1 million commitment to fund 4000 additional planned surgeries.<\/p>\n

The state will endeavour to deliver 45,000 more specialist clinic appointments for kids, at a cost of $16 million.\ufeff<\/p>\n

A record $1.04 billion cash splash will go towards rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing roads across Victoria.<\/p>\n

The government has committed to fixing 200,000 potholes and the same number of graffiti tags.<\/p>\n

More than two-thirds of those funds will target regional Victoria.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"TyreThe government has committed to fixing 200,000 potholes. (Getty)<\/p>\n

Today’s state budget\ufeff extends a discount on stamp duty for Victorians buying off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses for another six months, at a cost of $32.7 million.<\/p>\n

That scheme was due to expire in October, two years after it was announced, but will now apply to contracts signed before April 21, 2027.\ufeff<\/p>\n

The deal allows buyers to deduct construction costs from the total value of their property, which is used to calculate stamp duty.<\/p>\n

\"HouseHouse keys new home owner first home buy couple holding keys (Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n

As the treasurer unveiled her budget to media this morning, a crowd of angry council workers was protesting pay and conditions on the steps of parliament.<\/p>\n

Budget figures show local councils received $800 million less than expected in government grants last year, casting doubt on the union fight for better pay and conditions.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/The Australian Services Union protested outside the steps of Parliament. (Nine)<\/p>\n

Petrol prices in Victoria are predicted to average $2.30 per litre in the June quarter, before declining to around $2 per litre by the end of 2026, according to the budget papers.<\/p>\n

“This incorporates Commonwealth, state and territory government initiatives to lower the retail price of petrol, notably by reducing fuel excise duty from 1 April to 30 June 2026,” the budget papers read<\/p>\n

Those figures indicate a hike at the bowser in the coming months, will the reduced fuel excise currently soothing prices to around $1.80 per litre for unleaded.<\/p>\n

Despite the government proudly declaring its first post-pandemic operating surplus, debt continues to grip the state.<\/p>\n

Net debt is expected to nudge $200 billion by the 2029\/30 financial year.<\/p>\n

That would create an interest bill of $32.38 million every single day, up from $18.59 million in the 2024\/25 financial year.<\/p>\n

Debt currently makes up 24.9 per cent of the economy in the 2026\/27 financial year, which the government plans to shrink to 24.4 per cent by the end of the decade.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Project blowouts are also hampering the state’s efforts to drive down debt.<\/p>\n

\"VictorianVictorian Budget 2026\/27 (Nine)<\/p>\n

Today’s budget also failed to reveal the impact of Labor’s promise to spend an extra $11.5 billion on the Suburban Rail Loop.<\/p>\n

The $34-billion project is supposed to be equally funded by the state, the Commonwealth and ‘value capture.’<\/p>\n

But in January the government committed to funding that final third through “up-front debt” which will be recouped over 40 years via localised taxes, raising major concerns over potential interest implications.\ufeff<\/p>\n

The cost of redeveloping seven public housing towers \ufeffin Albert Park, Flemington, Kensington, North Melbourne, Prahran and St Kilda has grown by $344 million.<\/p>\n

Yet, Symes was adamant the state’s debt meant “building productive infrastructure\ufeff” and supporting economic growth.<\/p>\n

The government has boasted “no new taxes” this year, but the budget’s statement of finances shows tax revenue is set to soar to record levels.<\/p>\n

The state raked in $38.9 billion in taxes in the 2024\/25 financial year. That number is set to surge to $50.2 billion in 2029\/30.<\/p>\n

Of that, Victorians are expected to pay $1.39 billion more in property taxes by 2029-30 and $512 million more on vehicle registrations.<\/p>\n

Goods and services taxes will increase by $2.8 billion before the end of the decade, up from $15.89 billion in 2026\/27 to $18.69 billion in 2029\/30.<\/p>\n

Those figures suggest taxation will grow at a much faster rate than the overall economy.<\/p>\n

Public sector wages will balloon by $4 billion over the forward estimates, despite government efforts to give spending in the sector a haircut by reducing non-frontline service roles.<\/p>\n

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Victorian government has unveiled its pre-election budget, delivering its first operating surplus in seven years under the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-651825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}