By Jacob Shteyman in Canberra

The key details of the Albanese government’s fifth budget and how its measures will impact Australians.

THE FEDERAL BUDGET AT A GLANCE

• Budget deficit of $31.5 billion in 2026/27, $2.8 billion lower than projected in December’s mid-year update
• Commonwealth net debt to rise to $616.6 billion (19.9 per cent) in 2026/27, down from $646.9 billion forecast in December
• Economic growth to fall to 1.75 per cent in 2026/27, down from 2.25 per cent forecast in December

• Unemployment rate to rise to 4.5 per cent in 2026/27, same as forecast in December

• Headline inflation to fall to 2.5 per cent by June 2027, after hitting five per cent mid this year

• Wages to rise by 3.5 per cent in 2026/27

KEY MEASURES

• Removing the 50 per cent discount on the capital gains tax and replacing it with indexation to inflation

• Negative gearing will be abolished for investment properties bought after budget night, except for new builds

• Discretionary trusts will be hit with a minimum 30 per cent tax rate to discourage income splitting

• Wage and salary earners will receive a permanent tax cut of $250 per year via the “Working Australians Tax Offset”

• The $20,000 instant asset write-off will be made permanent to give small businesses extra certainty

• Businesses will get a tax refund via a permanent two-year loss carry back, expected to cost $2.3 billion over five years

• Temporarily halving the fuel excise and cutting the heavy vehicle road user charge

• Shoring up Australia’s fuel and fertiliser supplies to the tune of $10.7 billion

• Cutting the cost of the NDIS by $37.8 billion over five years

• Implementing a 20 per cent domestic gas reservation for Australia’s east coast

• An extra $2 billion for sewers, roads and other local infrastructure to enable 65,000 new homes to be built

• Providing $5.9 billion more for medicines listed on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme

• Giving an extra $25 billion over five years for states and territories to run their hospitals

• Cutting red tape to slash the regulatory burden by $10.2 billion each year and boost productivity

https://citynews.com.au/2026/tax-relief-for-workers-and-pain-for-investors-in-budget/