{"id":214062,"date":"2026-01-01T01:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/214062\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T01:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:09:32","slug":"what-are-the-new-rules-in-2026-heres-whats-changing-from-new-years-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/214062\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the new rules in 2026? Here’s what’s changing from New Year’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the clock struck midnight on Wednesday, fireworks heralded in the start of a new year.<\/p>\n

At the same time, a host of new laws, guidelines and price changes quietly came into effect.<\/p>\n

Here’s a quick breakdown of some of what’s changing from January 1.<\/p>\n

Apprenticeship payments\"A A licensed electrician training an apprenticeship at a construction site in Sydney.(ABC News: Mary Lloyd)Employer incentives<\/p>\n

A new payment encouraging employers to bring on apprentices in some trades will become available.<\/p>\n

It’s part of the federal government’s plan to build a clean energy and housing workforce.<\/p>\n

To be eligible, employers need to be training apprentices in a key apprenticeship priority (KAP) occupation.<\/p>\n

You can see the list of KAP trades here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Payments of up to $5,000 will be made in two instalments during the apprentices’ first year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the ongoing Priority Hiring Incentive will be reduced.<\/p>\n

This applies to employers of apprentices working towards a Certificate III or above in an occupation on the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List but not the KAP list.<\/p>\n

The maximum payment will drop from $5,000 to $2,500.<\/p>\n

Training support payments<\/p>\n

Many apprentices in trades listed on the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List are eligible for training support payments.<\/p>\n

But the maximum payment will be halved to $2,500.<\/p>\n

You can read more about the changes to apprenticeship payments here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cash payments\"Stack Carolyn Hocking had to wait 15 months to receive her deceased husband’s superannuation from CBUS(ABC News: Nick Haggarty)<\/p>\n

Many retailers that sell groceries and fuel will be required to accept cash payments for these essential goods.<\/p>\n

The rule doesn’t cover every store though.<\/p>\n

Small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million will be exempt, meaning they will be allowed to take payments by card only, if they choose.<\/p>\n

The federal government announced plans to introduce the mandate<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n

Cheaper medication\"A Australia’s medicines regulator is considering restrictions over how much paracetamol can be bought and who it can be sold to after data raised concerns about misuse and self-poisoning.(ABC: Josephine Asher)<\/p>\n

If you take a prescription medication, your next visit to the chemist could be cheaper.<\/p>\n

That’s because the price of medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will be capped at $25 per script, down from $31.60.<\/p>\n

Pensioners will still only have to pay $7.70 per script.<\/p>\n

The change stems from an election promise by the federal government<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Childcare subsidies\"Kids Generic child toys at a childcare center in Devonport. Still taken for Young Motherhood NFT in Easy Devonport on 1 July, 2024.(ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

The federal government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is changing.<\/p>\n

Families that receive the CCS will be entitled to at least 72 hours of subsidised child care each fortnight.<\/p>\n

This is called the 3 Day Guarantee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some families will be entitled to 100 hours if:<\/p>\n

Parents and guardians each do more than 48 hours of recognised participation every fortnightThey have a valid exemption.<\/p>\n

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children can also receive 100 hours of subsidised child care each fortnight.<\/p>\n

This change technically starts on January 5, but with a difference of four days, we’ve included it here.<\/p>\n

Energy bills\"Three Some groups, like single parent families, were less likely to have a financial buffer.(ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n

The federal government’s energy bill rebate scheme will expire.<\/p>\n

The cost-of-living relief package has given a $75 rebate on household and small business bills each quarter since mid-2023.<\/p>\n

But Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in December<\/a> it would not be extended into the new year.<\/p>\n

Gas appliances\"Gas Changes to the rules around gas appliances come into effect on January 1.(ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

Indoor gas appliances will no longer be allowed in new residential builds in Sydney.<\/p>\n

That includes cooktops, ovens and indoor heating and cooling systems.<\/p>\n

The city’s council plans to prohibit outdoor gas fittings down the line too.<\/p>\n

It’s all part of a measure voted on by the City of Sydney council back in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said at the time the change would help “address global boiling”.<\/p>\n

Research has also shown gas stoves can lead to negative health effects<\/a> due to the indoor air pollution they cause.<\/p>\n

Passports\"The An Australian passport.(ABC News: Dannielle Maguire)<\/p>\n

Australia already has the most expensive passport in the world, and the cost of one is about to rise even higher.<\/p>\n

Passport prices are adjusted annually on January 1 in line with the Consumer Price Index.<\/p>\n

The price of a 10-year adult passport will jump by $10 to $422.<\/p>\n

Five-year passports for children and adults aged 75 will cost $213 \u2014 up $5 on last year’s price.<\/p>\n

The Australian passport remains one of the strongest in the world<\/a>, though.<\/p>\n

It allows its holders to travel to 185 destinations without a visa.<\/p>\n

The Henley Passport Index ranked it equal seventh in October, alongside Czechia, Malta and Poland.<\/p>\n

Streaming\"A A person holds a TV remote while sitting on a couch.\u00a0(ABC News: Dannielle Maguire)<\/p>\n

Expect more Australian-made film and television on streaming platforms in the future.<\/p>\n

From Thursday, streaming services with more than 1 million Australian subscribers will need to invest a chunk of their revenue into making local drama, documentary, arts, educational and children’s programs.<\/p>\n

That’s because of an amendment to the Broadcasting Services Act passed by federal parliament last year.<\/p>\n

It stipulates these businesses must commit at least 10 per cent of their local expenditure, or 7.5 per cent of their revenue, to local content.<\/p>\n

You can read more about the new rule here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Welfare payments\"A<\/p>\n

Thanks to indexation, government payments lift slightly twice a year.<\/p>\n

Some of those fortnightly pensions are getting a boost on Thursday.<\/p>\n

You can check which allowances are increasing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the clock struck midnight on Wednesday, fireworks heralded in the start of a new year. At the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[119003,163,85,46,482,119001,63898,119002],"class_list":{"0":"post-214062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-australian-laws","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-medication","13":"tag-new-rules","14":"tag-new-year","15":"tag-what-is-new-in-2026"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}