We’ve entered a new year and there are a bunch of changes coming for Aussies. (Source: Yahoo Finance\/Getty) <\/p>\n
The new year is here, bringing a raft of changes that will impact Australians’ hip pockets. The start of a new year is usually when a range of government payments and thresholds<\/a> are indexed, and new laws kick into effect.<\/p>\n Centrelink payments<\/a> will increase for students and carers, and supermarkets and servos will be required to accept cash payments<\/a> for transactions from today. More money changes have been flagged for later in the year, including the introduction of payday superannuation<\/a>, tax cuts<\/a> and price gouging laws<\/a> for the big supermarkets.<\/p>\n Here’s a breakdown of all the major money changes happening in Australia from January 1, 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n More than one million Australians will see their Centrelink payments increase from today<\/a> due to indexation.<\/p>\n Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY, Youth Disability Support Pension and Carer Allowance recipients will see changes to their payment rates.<\/p>\n A single adult receiving Youth Allowance with no dependents and who lives away from home, will see their maximum fortnightly payment increase to $684.20. The Carer Allowance will increase to $162.60 per fortnight.<\/p>\n Income thresholds for student payments will also increase, and the parental income test threshold<\/a> for Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY.<\/p>\n Supermarkets and petrol stations will be required to accept cash payments<\/a> from today, with the government’s new cash mandate<\/a> coming into effect.<\/p>\n The cash mandate<\/a> will apply to in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7am and 9pm.<\/p>\n Small businesses<\/a> with an annual turnover under $10 million will be exempt from the mandate, except if they share a trademark with a bigger retailer.<\/p>\n All families eligible for the Child Care Subsidy will be able to get three days of subsidised childcare<\/a> per week from January 5.<\/p>\n The government is scrapping the current activity test, which calculates support based on how much a parent works or studies.<\/p>\n More than 100,000 families are expected to be entitled to more hours of subsidised care under the change.<\/p>\n Families earning between $50,000 and $100,000 are expected to save $1,460 per year on average.<\/p>\n The amount people have to spend on out-of-pocket medical expenses before qualifying for a rebate is increasing with indexation.<\/p>\n The Original Medicare Safety Net threshold<\/a> will increase from $576 to $594.40 today.<\/p>\n This is the threshold you need to reach for Medicare to reimburse you 100 per cent of the Medicare Benefits Schedule.<\/p>\n The Extended Medicare Safety Net threshold will increase from $834.50 to $861.20 for people who have a concession car or get Family Tax Benefit Part A, and from $2,615.50 to $2,699.10 for others.<\/p>\n The most a patient will have to pay for a medicine listed on the PBS will drop from $31.60 to $25.00 today. This is for people without a Commonwealth concession card.<\/p>\n The Child Dental Benefits Schedule will cover $1,158 every two years for eligible families, an increase of $26.<\/p>\n The government scheme can cover part or all of the cost of basic dental services for eligible children aged 17 or under.<\/p>\n Passport prices<\/a> will increase today, as they do each year, based on the consumer price index.<\/p>\n A 10-year adult passport will cost $422, up from $412. This will make it the world’s most expensive, ahead of Mexico at $335.95.<\/p>\n A DFAT spokesperson noted annual indexation had been legislated since 2011 and provided “consistency and transparency in how fees are updated”.<\/p>\n The incentives offered to Aussie apprentices<\/a> will reduce from $5,000 to $2,500.<\/p>\n The priority hiring incentive for employers of apprentices will also drop from $5,000 to $2,500 at the start of the new year.<\/p>\n The payments are for those in an occupation and a linked qualification on the priority list.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t impact those who started an apprenticeship before January 1, 2026.<\/p>\n Looking to changes coming later in the year, payday super<\/a> will come into effect from July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n This means employers will have to pay super at the same time as wages.<\/p>\n At the moment, employers only need to pay employee\u2019s super contributions at least every three months.<\/p>\n New tax cuts<\/a> will filter through from next year, with 14 million taxpayers set to benefit from the change.<\/p>\n From July 1, 2026, the 16 per cent rate will be reduced to 15 per cent for income between $18,201 and $45,000.<\/p>\n From July 1, 2027, the 15 per cent rate will be reduced further to 14 per cent.<\/p>\n The government has promised to introduce a $1,000 instant tax deduction<\/a> for work-related expenses from July 1.<\/p>\n This would be an automatic deduction instead of claiming individual work-related expenses and would not require receipts.<\/p>\n Supermarket price gouging<\/a> will be banned from July 1.<\/p>\n Supermarkets could face fines of $10 million per breach, three times the value of the benefit derived, or 10 per cent of the company\u2019s turnover during the preceding 12 months.<\/p>\n The laws only cover very large retailers with revenue of more than $30 billion per year, meaning only Coles and Woolworths<\/a> would currently come under the ban.<\/p>\n The government’s superannuation tax changes<\/a> are also due to come into effect.<\/p>\n The government has flagged plans to make the total concessional tax rate applied to earnings on balances between $3 million and $10 million 30 per cent from July 1.<\/p>\n The total concessional tax rate applied to earnings on balances over $10 million will be 40 per cent.<\/p>\n Both thresholds would be indexed.<\/p>\n The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has proposed banning surcharging on EFTPOS, Mastercard and Visa cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n It says consumers and businesses would save $1.2 billion a year from the change.<\/p>\n It has pushed the time for finishing its review to March 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n The changes were due to come into effect from July following the review, with no update given on the timing yet.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 3 Day Guarantee will kick in from January 5, to give all eligible families 72 hours of subsidised childcare per week. (Source: AAP) <\/p>\n
Tradie apprentice incentives will be halved from $5,000 to $2,500 from January 1. (Source: AAP) <\/p>\n