Aussies are set to get a cash boost following Labor’s resounding election victory.
Increasing its majority in parliament thanks to its massive win, Labor has gained a second term with a plan to enable all first-home buyers to get into the property market with a five per cent mortgage deposit – regardless of their income.
Anthony Albanese also won the youth vote by promising to cut university student debt by 20 per cent.
The government also campaigned to enable professionals to claim up to $1,000 worth of work-related items without needing a receipt.
Labor went to voters too with a plan for $268 a year in income tax relief, which the Coalition opposed under defeated leader Peter Dutton.
Under a re-elected Labor government, voters won’t get to experience some hip-pocket benefits until July 2026.
Here’s what you will get following the Albanese government’s landslide election victory.
Big tax changes are coming to Australia following Labor’s resounding election victory – but the catch is voters will have to wait for more than a year for the benefits
From July 1, 2026, Australians will be able to $1,000 a year on their tax return without a receipt
Income tax cuts: Up to $2,030 for the average worker earning $72,000
The Albanese government is giving Aussies income tax relief as part of a $17billion plan.
From July 1, 2026, the 16 per cent tax rate for workers earning $18,201 to $45,000 will be reduced to 15 per cent – leading to tax relief of $268.
And from July 1, 2027, the tax rate will be reduced to 14 per cent – bringing relief of $536 over two years.
That means every Australian taxpayer earning above $45,000 will get an extra tax cut of $268 in 2026-27 and $536 from 2027-28.
This will cover those on the minimum, full-time wage of $47,627 and the average, full-time income earner on $102,742.
Combined with the stage three tax cuts introduced last year, a worker with a middle income of $72,592 will receive a total tax cut of $1,762 in 2026-27 and $2,030 annually from 2027-28.
Labor went to the election opposing the Coalition’s $6billion plan to halve fuel excise to 25.4 cents a litre for year, which would have amounted to a $14 a week saving for Toyota RAV4 drivers filling up
First-home buyers: From January 2026, any first-home buyer can buy with just a 5 per cent deposit – no income cap
From January 2026, all first-home buyers will be able to get a mortgage with a five per cent deposit regardless of their income.
That means they will be able to buy the typical house in their preferred city and not just a small unit or property in a far, outer suburb with a five per cent mortgage deposit.
A property newcomer would be able to buy a Sydney house for $1.5million – the city’s median price – instead of $900,000 under the existing limit.
The limit in Brisbane is $1million, up from $700,000.
In Melbourne, it’s lower at $950,000, reflecting the decline in Victoria’s home prices during the past year, but it’s an improvement from $800,000 previously.
Perth has a limit of $850,000, up from $600,000, compared with $900,000 in Adelaide, also up from $600,000.
The limit in Hobart is $700,000, up from $600,000, while in Canberra it will be $1million, up from $750,000. The Northern Territory limit is unchanged at $600,000.
Labor’s plan to slash student debt by 20 per cent helped the government shore up the youth vote (pictured are University of New South Wales students)
Taxpayers would guarantee the balance of the 20 per cent deposit so they are spared from having to pay costly lenders’ mortgage insurance.
Student debt – Labor will reduce every Australian’s HELP or student loan debt by 20 per cent – saving the average uni grad about $5,500
Labor’s plan to slash student debt by 20 per cent helped the government shore up the youth vote.
Mr Albanese went to the election with a $16billion plan to reduce student debt by 20 per cent or an average of $5,520 from their Higher Education Contribution Scheme liabilities.
Labor also campaigned to lift the repayment threshold from $54,000 to $67,000, calculating it would save someone earning $70,000 about $1,300 a year in repayments.
This was on top of another $3billion plan to reduce student debt by indexing the interest on that debt it to the wage price index or the consumer price index, whichever is lower.
Mr Dutton had vowed to scrap Labor’s student debt relief if the Coalition wins Saturday’s election, arguing its unfair on tradies who didn’t go to university.
The Coalition had also lost the election vowing to axe fee-free TAFE, a Labor policy that debuted in January 2023, because only 100,000 people had completed the courses.
Power bill help extended: Two more $75 discounts coming
Labor will give two further $75 reductions to power bills in the last two quarters of the year.
Childcare costs less for more families
Labor has already made it law that any family earning up to $533,280 a year will get at least three days of cheaper childcare each week.
Pay rises for aged care and workers on minimum wage
Labor is setting aside $2.6billion to give 60,000 aged care nurses a pay rise, and has also asked the Fair Work Commission recommending a real wage increase for three-million minimum wage and award workers.
Before the election, Mr Albanese asked the Fair Work Commission to increase the minimum wage to at least keep up with inflation.
‘The idea that a Labor government would ever advocate for a below-inflation increase, that people on the minimum wage should go backwards — that’s not the party I belong to and not the party I lead,’ Albanese said at the time.
But unlike during the last election, when he supported a 5.1 per cent rise to match inflation, he now refused to specify a dollar figure.
The Consumer Price Index, which is a measure of inflation, is now at 2.4 per cent.
The national minimum wage is $24.10 per hour, which equates to $915.90 per 38-hour week or $47,626.80 a year.
Casual employees receive an additional 25 per cent loading, bringing their hourly rate to approximately $30.13.
If the fair work commission grants a 2.4 per cent increase in the minimum wage, this would result in an additional $0.58 per hour, bringing the new hourly rate to $24.68 – – or $21.98 a week.
The Fair Work Commission conducts the Annual Wage Review between March and June each year.
Any changes resulting from this review typically take effect from July 1.
A minimum wage rise will benefit the estimated 180,000 workers currently on the minimum wage, as well as 2.6 million workers across 121 awards that will also be adjusted.
Cash for tradies
Apprentices who work in residential construction will get a $10,000 cash bonus – with the government set aside enough for just over 60,000 apprentices. Employers hiring in priority trades may be eligible for a $5,000 incentive under the Priority Hiring scheme.
Solar power rebate
Households can access up to $4,000 in rebates for solar battery installations under a Labor program open to everyone, regardless of income.
You’ll be able to claim up to $1,000 in work-related expenses on your tax return without needing to keep receipts
From July 1, 2026, Australians will be able to claim $1,000 a year on their tax return without a receipt.
The government says this will benefit 39 per cent of taxpayers – adding up to 5.7million workers.
Under existing rules, Aussies can claim up to $300 in work-related expenses without needing receipts, but that rises to $1,000 for the 2026-27 financial year when annual returns are submitted to the Australian Taxation Office.
The instant tax deduction change, from $300 to $1,000, will cost the Budget $2.4billion over three years with Labor arguing it would save the average Australian $205 a year on their tax bill.
Jenny Wong, the tax leader for CPA Australia – representing Certified Practising Accountants – fears Australians will miss out on tax deductions under the proposal.
‘Allowing taxpayers to choose to claim a $1,000 instant tax deduction instead of claiming individual work-related expenses may save some workers a bit of time – but could mean they miss out on the full refund they are entitled to,’ she said.
But H&R Block’s director of tax communications Mark Chapman said the new $1,000 threshold to make tax claims without a receipt would see more scrutiny placed on Australians who made bigger tax deductions.
‘The ATO will not need to audit taxpayers who claim the standard deduction,’ he said.
‘This will enable them to focus on higher tax claims – including work-related deductions over $1,000 – which is sure to increase the pressure on taxpayers to make sure they have the necessary records to support their claim.’
Buyers of electric cars will be given major tax incentives
Electric vehicle drivers buying a car on a novated lease will continue to be able to claim the entire cost of repayments and running costs from their taxable income.
This policy, introduced in 2022, means employers were spared from paying the fringe benefits tax an EV was under the luxury car tax threshold of $91,387, and a staff member bought the car through a salary-sacrificing package.
The government estimated Labor’s fringe benefit tax exemption on EVs would save an employer $9,000 on a $50,000 Chinese-made Tesla Model 3, while an employee would save $4,700 through a salary sacrificing arrangement.
The Liberal Party had opposed this policy along with Labor’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, designed to reduce emissions by 59 per cent over four years.
Car companies that sold too many petrol or diesel cars would be penalised, which could see the price of a Ford Ranger ute rise by $6,150, based on Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries modelling.
But it also calculated a Tesla Model Y could be $15,390 cheaper as companies that sold more EVs were given credits.
