2026 Victorian Budget

2026 Victorian Budget

by | May 11, 2026 | Industry News, Quantity Surveying

This Budget acknowledges the real challenges that Victorians are facing.

  • Making healthcare easier to get by opening a new community hospital and supporting services at 3 others, and providing young families with better paediatric and maternity services.
  • Investing in our kids’ future by continuing to fund kinder and building schools for a great education closer to home.
  • Keeping communities safe with increased resources for Victoria Police and more PSOs, delivering serious consequences for violent crime, and boosting the Violence Reduction Unit to stop crime before it starts.

This Budget confirms a budget surplus of more than $700 million for 2025-26 and maintains operating surpluses over the forward estimates.

In the last 6 years, business investment is up 44%, with 123,000 new businesses opening in Victoria and more than 646,000 jobs created. Amid global economic challenges and unrest, the Victorian economy will continue to grow. That growth will be supported by the rapid rise of cutting-edge technologies creating new solutions to old ways of working.

This Budget continues to build for the future, with $4.4 billion total estimated investment (TEI) added to the Government’s infrastructure program.

Government Infrastructure Investment (GII) is projected to be $21.4 billion in 2025-26 before averaging $16.5 billion over the budget and forward estimates.

Property

This Budget also extends concessions for buying off-the-plan, which saves home buyers money and supports housing supply.

This Budget also invests $97 million to continue delivering housing reform and improving confidence in the building industry. This includes $16 million to protect consumers and raise standards in the building industry through the implementation of registration and licensing requirements.

Public Transport

  • $318 million for maintenance and safety upgrades that will help the regional passenger rail network run more reliably
  • $92 million to improve train services, including running up to nine daily services on the Shepparton Line, increasing capacity on the Wyndham Vale Line with larger trains, and uplift services along the six lines that run through Clifton Hill and Burnley
  • $76 million to take the next steps towards electrification of the Melton Line
  • $7.5 million to make the public transport network, cycling facilities and walking paths safer and more accessible.

Healthcare

This Budget also invests $284 million to open and operate hospitals – making it easier to get free public healthcare in your community – as well as supporting and expanding emergency departments. This includes:

  • $95 million for Werribee Mercy Hospital emergency department expansion
  • $45 million to open expanded acute care capacity at Angliss Hospital
  • $35 million to uplift Cranbourne Community Hospital
  • $34 million to uplift Craigieburn Community Hospital
  • $20 million to uplift University Hospital Geelong paediatric emergency department
  • $19 million to open Pakenham Community Hospital
  • $7.1 million to operate the new PET scanner at Goulburn Valley Health
  • $2.8 million for services at Mernda Community Hospital, building on the recent $25 million investment to open it
  • $2 million to support early transition work at the New Melton Hospital.

Regional Health

  • $75 million for the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, for projects ranging from operating theatre refurbishments to equipment upgrades
  • $35 million for new and upgraded medical equipment in operating theatres, emergency departments, surgical wards, intensive care units and neonatal and maternity services across our public hospitals
  • $20 million to continue upgrading and replacing engineering infrastructure at hospitals across Victoria
  • $15 million to upgrade equipment and renew, reconfigure and refurbish metropolitan health services’ infrastructure.

Aged Care

  • $36 million to sustain public sector residential aged care services
  • $17 million to deliver hospital care at residential aged care facilities, allowing older Victorians to be cared for in their own home and reducing annual hospital presentations by almost 30,000
  • $15 million to support changes requiring nurses to administer medication in non-government aged care, delivering higher-quality care
  • $7.5 million to upgrade Victoria’s public sector residential aged care facilities
  • $5.1 million to continue reducing delays in hospital discharge for older patients without decision-making capacity.

Mental Health

  • $30 million for new and existing mental health Hospital in the Home beds to enable more people to access home-based acute inpatient mental health care
  • $6.5 million for the prevention of suicide initiatives
  • $5.4 million to continue the Youth Outreach and Recovery Service, Victoria’s dedicated statewide outreach service for young people with complex mental health challenges
  • $4.9 million to support Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals and Hubs so they can keep delivering free care for anyone who needs it.

Education

  • $552 million for school building maintenance and compliance, delivering high-quality spaces for learning, including to make school buildings more accessible for students and staff with disabilities
  • $295 million to upgrade 31 schools across Victoria, including upgrades to visual and performing arts spaces, sports facilities and learning spaces
  • $217 million for modular classrooms to provide flexible spaces for learning at schools where they’re needed including at Broadford Secondary College
  • $104 million to acquire land for new schools and new campuses, including in Cardinia, Greater Geelong, Melbourne, Hume, Mitchell and Wyndham
  • $25 million for minor works such as upgrading bathrooms and fixing roofs
  • $22 million to begin planning for future new schools.
  • $95 million to upgrade nine schools across Regional Victoria.

Police / Correction Centres and Court Services

  • $229 million to increase capacity in the corrections system, including youth justice, ensuring we have the facilities to hold offenders accountable and keep the community safe
  • $125 million for 40 new forensic mental health beds at Thomas Embling Hospital
  • $117 million for a specialised, fast-tracked youth court list in the County Court, meaning alleged youth crime matters will be heard faster
  • $11 million for maintenance, repair and renewal works of courts across the state

CFA

  • $26 million to build new Country Fire Authority (CFA) stations at Charlton and Woodvale, in Central Victoria, Mirboo North, in South Gippsland, and Kingston, in the Central Highlands.

Sports & Cultural

  • $29 million to continue the delivery of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project, including Arts Centre Melbourne and the National Gallery of Victoria
  • $27 million to attract new international productions, digital games and visual effects through the new Victorian Screen Incentive stream of the Victorian Investment Fund
  • $23 million to continue to attract business events to Melbourne and regional Victoria, including attracting events to the new Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre
  • $12 million for Hamer Hall upgrades to support our outstanding music events
  • $92 million to the State Sport Centres Trust and the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust to continue community access to sporting facilities, including the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
  • $13 million to operationalise the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre and for the Victorian Convention and Exhibition Trust

 

Victorian Budget 2026-27

2032 Brisbane Olympic Games Venues

2032 Brisbane Olympic Games Venues

by | Mar 25, 2025 | Industry News

At the end of the 100 day review by the current QLD State Government, we now have direction as to a number of the venues for the 2032 Olympic Games.

With the Premier committing to deliver the projects on time and on budget, this is a big call. With delays in the past few years, a large component of work needs to be delivered in the next 6 years.

LinkedIn Post

 

At the end of the 100-day review by the current QLD State Government, we have direction as to a number of the venues for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

Some of the key announcement points are as follows:

  • A New 63,000 Seat Arena at Victoria Park
  • A New 25,000 Seat Games Mode National Aquatic Facility at Centenary Pool Spring Hill
  • A New 20,000 Seat Outdoor Arena at the RNA Showgrounds
  • The Games Village at Bowen Hills adjacent to the RNA Showgrounds
  • Investment in Suncorp Stadium
  • Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast Arenas
  • Major upgrades to the Pat Rafter Arena including 12 new Courts and an additional 3,000 Seat Show court
  • Redland Whitewater centre
  • Demolition of the Gabba grounds in the long term after being used for Cricket for the Games. With the site to become a housing and entertainment precinct in the longer term
  • New Large Indoor Sports Facilities at Logan and Moreton Bay
  • Para Olympics specialist venue at Chandler
  • A revised location for Brisbane Live and an alternative method to deliver this through private funding of the new vending at the Go Print Site adjacent to The Gabba
  • More regional Venues to host sports including Cairns, Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Rockhampton, Townsville and the Whitsundays.
  • Plus a number of Road and Transport options including extending the proposed Rail line from Caloundra to Birtinya and Metro through to Maroochydore and Sunshine Coast Airport including the Mooloolah River interchange
  • Substantial Funding to grassroots clubs through the Games on Program delivering $250m in upgrades to local sporting facilities

With the Premier committing to deliver the projects on time and on budget, we believe that this is a big call. With delays in the past few years there is now a large component of work that needs to be delivered in the next 6 years.

With the catchphrase “to get on with it” we believe that the State Government needs to work quickly to ensure that these venues will be delivered.

We believe that they will need to make a number of changes to traditional policy to deliver these projects in the time left and in line with budgets including:

  • Review their procurement models with Alliance and negotiated contracts for key projects
  • Different risk models to share risks
  • Incentivise interstate workers to come to Queensland
  • Incentives for Regional Workers to come to South East Queensland
  • Manage productivity and look at ways to improve productivity. We need to improve the 3.1 Days a week average productivity on large projects to closer to 4 days average
  • Manage industrial relations and delays on ley projects
  • Look at QBCC licensing requirements and financial licensing for larger Tier 1 contractor to reduce the financial ratios requirement to increase the pool of Tier 1 contractors willing to bid on larger projects
  • Rapid training options to upskill and get tradespeople qualified in a shorter period than the tradition 4 year apprenticeship.
  • Incentives for retired tradespeople to return to the work force
  • Rapid Training for construction professionals and incentives for companies to train new staff
  • Better co-ordination of State Government spend over the next 6 years

The opportunities for the next 6 years to showcase Brisbane and Queensland on the international stage are fantastic as well as leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come if we get it right.

Time will tell so let’s get on with it.

2024 Federal Budget

2024 Federal Budget

by | Dec 30, 2024 | Industry News, Quantity Surveying

The 2024 budget is slated as being the budget with something for everyone. It appears to be a budget that tries to walk the fine line of reducing some of the cost of living pressures whilst still not trying to poke inflation upwards and force the hand of the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates.

LinkedIn Post

2023 Federal Budget

by | May 10, 2023 | Industry News, Quantity Surveying

Whilst the 2023 budget was marketed as the budget to reduce the cost of living pressures, it is clear that it was also about reducing government expenditure with the first surplus in 15 years targeted. This is being driven by lower unemployment rates than forecast and higher returns from royalties out of the mining companies.

So are the Reserve Bank and the Federal Government finally on the same page to reduce inflationary pressures, and what effect will the budget have on the construction industry, which is buoyed under the pressure of supply shortages and labour shortages leading to a number of builders experiencing losses and a number of contractors across the country going into receivership.

“Relief, repair, restraint.” All three are at the heart of May’s Federal Budget, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers. This equates to cost-of-living relief, repair of supply chains and (perhaps above all) spending restraint.

It appears that the Federal budget is walking the tightrope of addressing many of the cost-of-living pressures whilst also not spending big and fuelling escalation.

The key aspects affecting the construction, depreciation and renewables sectors are summarised below:

There are a number of ways the government is trying to increase housing supplies that, include:

 

BUILD TO RENT

  • Increasing the capital works depreciation rate from 2.5% to 4% for eligible new BTR projects where construction commences after 9 May 2023
  • Reducing the withholding tax rate from 30% to 15% for eligible fund payments made from 1 July 2024 by management investment trusts (MITs) to foreign residents on income from newly constructed residential build-to[1]rent (BTR) properties.
  • These concessional measures are proposed to apply to BTR projects that:  Consist of 50 or more apartments or dwellings made available for rent to the general public, are held under single ownership for at least ten years before being sold, and Offer a lease term of at least three years for each dwelling.

 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

  • Increasing the government-guaranteed liability cap of the National Housing and Finance Investment Corporation (NHFIC) to enable the NHFIC to increase its support for social and affordable housing through loans from the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator
  •  Requiring the NHFIC to allocate a minimum of 1,200 homes to be delivered to each state and territory within five years of the Housing Australia Future Fund commencing operation
  • Expanding the eligibility of the Home Guarantee Scheme to allow individuals who are not spouses or de-facto partners to access the scheme. These individuals include any two eligible people as joint applicants, non-first home buyers who have not owned a property in Australia for at least ten years to access the guarantee, the single legal guardian of children, and Australian permanent residents X Redirecting interest earnings on unallocated NHFIC funds to support social and affordable housing.

 

HOUSING -CHANGES TO THE HOME GUARANTEE SCHEME

  • Starting July 2023, joint applications for friends, siblings, and other family members will be allowed under the First Home Guarantee and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee.
  • Meanwhile, non-first-home buyers who have not owned a property in Australia in the last 10 years will be eligible to apply for First Home Guarantee and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. This will provide support to those who are planning to re-enter the property market.
  • The Family Home Guarantee will also be extended to include single legal guardians of children such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

 

FOR SMALL BUSINESSES SUPPORT IS PROVIDED THROUGH:

  • Continuation of the instant Asset write off at the higher level of $20,000 for the 2023/2024 financial year for businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $10M per year
  • Small business Energy incentives Under this program, businesses with an annual turnover less than $50 million will be able to access an additional 20% deduction on spending that supports electrification and more efficient use of energy. Total expenditures up to $100,000 will be eligible for this incentive, with the maximum additional tax deduction being $20,000 per business. Eligible assets or upgrades must be first used or installed and ready for use between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.

 

RENEWABLES SPENDING

“This budget allocates $4 billion to realising our future as a renewable energy superpower — bringing the government’s total investment to more than $40 billion,” Jim Chalmers said.

  • This includes part of our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund to support the development of green industries, manufacturing and more.
  • A new Capacity Investment Scheme will unlock over $10 billion of investment in firmed-up renewable energy projects up and down our east coast.

However, much of the investment is off-balance sheet and does not show up in the budget papers.

  • For example, the only new spending in this budget for that $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund was $61.4 million to “support the establishment and operation” of it.
  • The budget includes for an investment of $2 billion in a new Hydrogen Headstart program, so Australia can be a world leader in producing and exporting hydrogen power.
  • Although Budget Paper 2 notes that funding for this program will be held in the Contingency Reserve, effectively, the government’s spare cash is set aside for a rainy day.

 

INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING

  • Infrastructure spending will be subject to further review, and the federal government has committed to a $120Billion 10 year rolling pipeline.  The 90-day independent review will allow the government time to consider the projects’ actual priorities and assess their cost and deliverability in the current environment.
  • An additional $200M has been committed to replenish the Major Business Case Fund
  • $200M has been committed over two years for merit-based locally driven grants that address community infrastructure
  • $150M in Urban Precincts and Partnership Programs
  • $2.5B for the Brisbane Arena Development
  • $935M in contributions for a further 16 venues to be jointly funded with the Queensland Government  for the 2032 Games
  • $65M in funding for upgrades to the UTAS Stadium in Launceston
  • No new funding is provided in the budget for any significant investment in rail projects for the next three years

It appears that little has been done to address the issues in the construction industry with the changes to the First home owners grants, providing additional access to first home buyers grants and placing further pressure on the construction supply chain shortages.  There is no specific expenditure to address the future skills shortages in the construction industry and reduced productivity in the industry.  In addition, the government has proposed an increase for heavy vehicle road users leading to increased transport costs for materials and goods. It appears that the Federal Government is finally on the same page as the Reserve Bank and has produced a budget to reduce inflation.  Whilst a surplus is proposed, the forecast is that it will be short-lived, with substantial additional expenditure required for the government to service its debt requirements, large Defence spending and the NDIS program, which continues to grow.

 

LinkedIn Post

July COVID Update

July COVID Update

by | Jul 13, 2020 | Commercial New Build, Industry News

– from the Master Builders Queensland 7 July 2020

Social housing program registrations open

Calling all licensed small to medium-sized builders – the new Works for Tradies program (the government’s new social housing program) is open for business.

The program is designed to build new social housing across the state, create a pipeline for small to medium-sized builders and job opportunities for electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, concreters and landscapers.

Builders can now register their interest and receive an early heads up about tender opportunities for work in their local area. There’s plenty of opportunities across the state. Target areas and development numbers include:

  • South-East Queensland: 70
  • Central Queensland: 25
  • Darling Downs: 21
  • Far North Queensland: 30
  • Mackay Whitsunday: 20
  • Townsville: 25
  • Wide Bay: 24

Be quick! Registrations close on 24 July 2020.

Queensland signs up for HomeBuilder grant

The Queensland Government has now signed the partnership agreement, officially signing the state up for the HomeBuilder grant.

While the application process is not yet available, more information confirming eligibility criteria is now available on the Queensland Government’s website.

While this is definitely a step in the right direction and confirms the government’s commitment to delivering the grant to Queenslanders, we’ll be putting pressure on them to release details of the application process sooner than the advertised date of early August.

We’ll also be lobbying hard for the government to offer some flexibility with the eligibility requirement that construction must commence within three months of the contract date. We’re pushing for them to accept construction commencing within three months of building approval as meeting the eligibility criteria.

Need contractual advice?
If you need contractual advice regarding signing contracts prior to the application process being available and specific clauses that may cover eligibility, our Master Builders Members Legal team are on hand to assist.

Eligibility questions
All the information you need to understand eligibility requirements for the HomeBuilder grant, the Regional home building boost and the First Home Owners’ Grant is available on the Queensland Government’s website.

 

Brisbane city applications fast tracked

Brisbane City Council recently announced they will fast track some applications to support the building industry during COVID-19 and the period of economic recovery.

They have committed to a 20 business day timeframe for code assessable, well-made change applications for new dwellings, extensions like sheds or carports, and full or partial demolitions.

Planning law changes announced to keep projects moving

The Queensland Government recently announced changes to Queensland’s planning laws, which are designed to ensure infrastructure projects keep going during COVID-19.

The changes allow for some flexibility in public notice requirements and include allowing the use of digital and other online media to advertise development applications; as well as some temporary amendments to statutory requirements around the public availability of development application documents.

Changes are in effect until 31 December 2020 and may be extended following community consultation.