Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The housing market in Australia is broken, and many young Australians know that very well at the moment. When a nurse, a teacher, a childcare worker, a police officer or an ambulance officer pays more tax in our taxation system than someone who earns millions of dollars by simply buying and selling assets, then we know that there is an issue with our taxation system. Our government is determined to fix it to ensure that the taxation system is fairer and that it promotes productive work in our economy and delivers for the average Australian worker and their family.

We know that, in Australia at the moment, housing is becoming incredibly unaffordable. In the electorate I represent, we're finding that a lot of teachers, nurses and police officers can't afford to live in the community they work in. When they go to an auction on a weekend to potentially buy their first home, they're priced out of the market by investors who are receiving large tax concessions under our taxation system to support them to buy a negatively geared property. That's why our government is acting to reform our taxation system—to ensure that it is fairer and delivers for working Australians.

Those opposite are teaming up with One Nation—so we've got the Liberal Party, the National Party and One Nation in a crackpot coalition teaming up to defend the current system. They want the system that is currently broken and is not delivering for working Australians to be maintained and to stay in place. It is Labor that is proposing to change the system to ensure that it is much fairer and works for the average Australian. We're proposing to do that by reforming negative gearing, ensuring that people who currently negatively gear properties will be able to continue to do so into the future—so they're not affected by the prospective changes—but that, from a point in time, those that wish to negatively gear properties will have to do so on the basis of purchasing off the plan or new developments, the philosophy being that we're encouraging people to invest in building new properties as an increase to the supply of housing in Australia, which we greatly need.

Secondly, we're also reforming the capital gains tax discount, returning to the inflation based method of calculating capital gains and providing discounts based on inflation rather than the current 50 per cent discount that was put in place in 1999 by the Howard government. This will generate a much fairer taxation system and ensure that Australians who are working hard, trying to make ends meet, feel that the taxation system delivers for them. And because we're making those reforms, we're able to deliver tax cuts for working Australians. Two tax cuts are coming up—one this year, one next year. We're also able to deliver a working Australians tax offset of $250 and a $1,000 instant return on taxation returns for the average working Australian.

This is all part of our government's broader economic plan, providing real relief for Australians who are doing it tough while strengthening our resilience and delivering meaningful reform for the future. These are all part of a responsible budget, shaped for a responsible moment, for Australians who are facing cost-of-living pressure and know that that is real, for families making difficult choices, for pensioners who are stretching every dollar, for young people wondering whether homeownership is still within reach and for small businesses that are navigating global uncertainty that continues to ripple through supply chains, energy markets and interest rates.

In this environment, our government has a responsibility to act—and that's exactly what we're doing. We're providing support where it's most needed while also laying the foundations for a stronger and more productive economy. That's exactly what the budget does—it delivers targeted cost-of-living relief measures, ones that won't pour fuel on the fire of inflation we've had over recent times in Australia, ones that strengthen essential services, reform the tax system, invest in housing and build a more sustainable budget for the longer term.

At the heart of our plan is a simple principle: responsible relief, responsible reform. We're helping Australians today while preparing the nation for tomorrow. One of the most significant ways we're helping is through that cost-of-living and tax relief—and this year, the legislated tax cuts will flow to every Australian taxpayer. That means more money staying in people's pockets at times when they need it most. On top of that, we're going to deliver new and permanent income tax relief through the $250 working Australians tax offset. It's a measure that boosts take-home pay and rewards work. We're also simplifying returns and reducing compliance burdens through the $1,000 instant tax deduction.

These reforms are part of a broader effort to build a tax system that is fairer, more efficient and more supportive of aspiration. They sit alongside changes designed to help more Australians achieve security in owning their own home. Through targeted tax reform, we're supporting around 75,000 additional Australians into homeownership. It's a meaningful step forward, restoring fairness and opportunity in the housing market, given that housing is one of the most significant challenges of our time.

We're not just undertaking tax reform; we're also ensuring that we're building the supply of housing in Australia. The Housing Australia Future Fund is now beginning to ensure that it's investing in new housing opportunities for Australians. In Kingsford Smith, 282 new social and affordable homes funded through the Housing Australia Future Fund are currently being constructed and will provide vitally needed housing, particularly for essential workers. Nurses working at the Prince of Wales Hospital, police officers working with the Eastern Beaches Command and childcare workers working and educating our kids in our local community are the people who will benefit from Labor's reforms around negative gearing and capital gains tax and our reforms to ensure that we're building more homes and adding to the supply of housing throughout the country.

We're also ensuring that we're unlocking infrastructure that supports housing with a $2 billion investment in enabling infrastructure to unlock the construction of up to 64,000 more homes. That brings our Homes for Australia Plan to more than $47 billion. It's a comprehensive long-term strategy to increase supply, improve affordability and ensure that more Australians have a safe place to live. At the same time, we're providing the states with $59.4 million to help secure social and affordable housing for more than 4,000 young people at risk of homelessness. These are practical, targeted measures that respond to real needs.

We're also delivering immediate cost-of-living relief for Australians with their fuel costs, immediate relief at the bowser. For three months, the fuel excise will be halved, providing direct savings to households and businesses. The heavy vehicle road user charge will be reduced to zero over the same period, helping to ease pressure and costs associated with freight. We're protecting consumers, doubling penalties for major breaches of consumer law.

You wouldn't believe it, but we actually have more fuel reserves in Australia now than we did when the crisis started. Much of that is thanks to the good work of the minister for energy and renewable energy, who's sitting here with me at the table. He's done an excellent job in securing those additional fuel supplies for Australia. We now have more fuel than we did when this crisis started, and, because of the good, strong relationships that we have with our partner nations within the regions like Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Brunei, we've been able to negotiate additional fuel supplies for Australia with more fuel on the water on its way to Australia. Through Export Finance Australia, we've been able to put together an arrangement that ensures that we can underwrite contracts by a contract for difference to ensure that people who are importing fuel into Australia aren't risking huge losses into the future should the price of fuel fall dramatically. It's all part of a suite of arrangements that were put together by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy in conjunction with other ministers in our government, to ensure that Australia's fuel security is as certain as possible into the future and that we're putting pressure to lower costs at the bowser, and hopefully that will begin to flow through to Australians.

In the Medicare and healthcare sector, we're ensuring that urgent care clinics become a permanent feature of our healthcare system. I know that the Medicare urgent care clinic in Maroubra, in our community, is open from 7 am in the morning till 9 pm in the evening, seven days a week. Everything is bulk-billed, ensuring that Australians and people living in our community get the health care they need when they need it and, importantly, taking much needed pressure off the Prince of Wales Hospital. The number of GPs that are bulk-billing in our community is increasing as well. I visited one last Friday, the Maroubra Medical & Dental Centre. All of their doctors and GPs now are bulk-billing. It's a fully bulk-billing practice, adding to the number of practices that are increasing their bulk-billing in our community.

This particular bill also ensures that there's relief for people in the budget, particularly those that are paying the Medicare levy at lower rates of income. Schedule 5 of this bill increases the Medicare levy for low-income thresholds for singles, families, seniors and pensioners to 2.9 per cent, in line with recent movements in the consumer price index. This ensures that low-income households continue to be exempt from paying the Medicare levy or pay it at a reduced rate if their incomes have increased, in line with or less than inflation. It's a simple, fair adjustment that protects those who can least afford additional costs. Successive governments have increased these thresholds in line with CPI since 1997, and it's a longstanding practice that ensures that the Medicare levy remains progressive and equitable. More than a million low-income earners are expected to benefit from these increases in 2025-26. It's a practical example of how we're easing pressure on household budgets while maintaining the integrity of our healthcare system.

Schedule 6 introduces an important reform that will assist a lot of the migrants that we have, particularly the Greek community in Kingsford Smith, who tend to travel back to their homeland during the summer months, which we're coming up to soon, through a change to the pension, a supplement for Australians travelling overseas. It doubles the amount of time a pensioner can travel overseas temporarily before their pension supplement is affected from six weeks to 12 weeks. I know that many of the members of the Greek community in our area will travel back to Greece, to their islands and their homelands, for a period of up to three months. Who wouldn't want to go back to Greece and enjoy the summer months? I often say to people in our community, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, that the streets of Kingsford and Kensington seem to be a lot freer during the summer months of Europe, when a lot of those people head back home—

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're Lebanese in McMahon.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And the Lebanese in McMahon—many communities throughout Australia will benefit from this. It recognises that the pensioners who travel overseas for short periods still have ongoing costs in Australia, such as their energy bills and their phone and internet bills, and around 92,000 pensioners a year will benefit from this extension.

At the same time, the measure ensures that the pension supplement is better targeted. The basic amount of the pension supplement was originally designed to compensate pensioners for GST costs. It's currently the only supplement assistance that is paid indefinitely while the recipient is overseas. But pensioners who are outside of Australia for a long term or who leave permanently are not incurring Australian GST related costs in the same way as someone who is living here. So, under this proposal, the pension supplement will cease after 12 weeks whilst someone is temporarily overseas or departs and chooses to go overseas permanently. This is a measure that doesn't affect a person's eligibility for the pension or change how the base pension is calculated. The base pension will continue to increase twice a year with indexation. But it's a measure that ensures that the supplement is better targeted and provides better support for people who are travelling overseas for those short periods of time.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I always love the way that the Labor government words its legislation and the titles thereof, like 'Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026', as though the public needs to be hoodwinked into thinking that there is trust involved in this budget—well, there's no trust if you're a farmer, if you're a small-business owner, if you're the average, everyday, ordinary Australian family trying to pay the cost of living, your energy bills, your grocery bills, your fuel costs. For them and for many, many others, the trust has been taken away, has been stripped clear away, in this budget. I'm glad that the Minister for Climate Change and Energy is at the table.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Your honourable friend.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My honourable friend. There are many things on which we have agreed, and there are many, many things, Minister, that we have disagreed on.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Respectfully.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Respectfully—always respectful. I'm always respectful.

But the recent situation with fuel—and I appreciate that there's a component of this in this particular legislation—was a great worry. Not necessarily the fuel supply—I'll say that before I get any interjections. The government kept telling everyone—particularly those regional Australians who travel further, longer and more often than our city friends—that the supply was there. The supply, apparently, according to this government, was always there. But it was the distribution, it was the logistics, it was the supply, it was the affordability—and we saw communities such as Batlow, in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in my electorate of Riverina, run out of fuel.

We saw farmers being held almost at ransom to be able to fill their trucks, fill their air seeders and fill their tractors with diesel at a busy time—it is sowing season. Unless the farmers take that window of opportunity after the rain comes to get their crops in, before the winter sets in and before the frosts start, they miss out. If our farmers in Australia—who we should thank three times a day, every day, when we tuck our knees under the table to eat; I think they often get forgotten—can't get their crops in for that winter season and then, obviously, harvest towards the end of the year, that becomes a food security issue. When you have a food security issue, that becomes a national security issue. Our farmers deserve every bit of praise and every bit of assistance, and they did not receive it when the war in Iran and over the Strait of Hormuz began, when the fuel crisis began and in those ensuing weeks.

What did the minister do? He appointed Anthea Harris as the fuel supply coordinator. Anthea Harris was already a very busy person doing the review of the Water Act—busy enough, I would suggest. We probably don't have to go too far into the Water Act and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the effects they've had on our farmers to know that Anthea Harris already has a very busy job. She shouldn't have been doing the job she was tasked with by the minister, requested by the government, and the Water Act review at the same time. She should not have been doing the minister's job, and she was. The minister should have been doing his own job, but the minister was too concerned with being the president of the COP, with being the president of fixing the world's climate—good luck with that, Minister—and our farmers were left, literally, high and dry without diesel.

For those who could get it, some of them had to pay cash and could only half fill their tanks. That's not good enough. When you're halfway through the circular rounds of your paddock and you run out of diesel, what do you do then? Your air seeder is full of seed, and you've only half finished the job. It's a little bit like Inland Rail, only half finished—Melbourne to Parkes, instead of Melbourne to Brisbane. It's a little bit like what most of this government does. It half finishes the job. Then they come into this place and, in the title of their legislation, use the word 'trusted'. 'Trust me,' they say; 'Trust us.'

Well, we know what happens when you trust Labor. Don't ever believe what Labor says it's going to do before an election; just look at what Labor does after an election. We remember well the 97 occasions, before the 2022 election, when Labor said it would reduce the power bills by $275. How did that work for you, Minister?

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Fail.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a fail. I hear the member for Casey say 'Fail.' It was an abject failure, and an abject breach of trust. That is what Labor does: it breaches trust. Then, of course, we have the situation around the capital gains issue. We had an issue around housing, we had an issue around the Murray-Darling Basin, and we had an issue with the changes to the trusts, as I said, and many farmers use that for succession planning so that they can pass the farm on from one generation to the next. Labor, in the blink of an eye, has breached that trust with this budget, with this economic 'plan' that the Treasurer brought down just a few short weeks ago. It's hard for Labor members to go and sell this budget because it's a crock. It's an absolute breach of faith with the public, with those people who thought they would give Labor another go—and they did, in 2025. They've been let down badly again. They've been let down by all of these breaches of faith from this Labor Party and from this Labor government. This is what happens. When Labor runs out of its money, it comes after yours—the hardworking taxpayers of Australia.

You only have to look at the changes that Labor is introducing in the National Disability Insurance Scheme space, and in the changes that it's introducing in this budget to veterans, capping services, capping those allied health, podiatry, speech therapy, psychology, psychological help, mental health care and all of those provisions that our veterans need, want, expect, demand and, most of all, deserve. They have put on a uniform to keep us safe, to protect this country. In our hour of need, we were able to say, 'We can sleep safe at night because we know that we've got our men and women on the frontline protecting our interests, protecting our coastline and protecting our country.' Then, when they give up their uniform, they give up their military careers and they return to civilian life, what do we do? What does this Labor government do? It turns its back on them, shuns them. It's not right, and it's not fair. How can our veterans or anybody who wants to be a recruit and join the Army, the Air Force or the Navy expect to have that patriotism to go out and serve our country when they don't know if a future Labor government will have their best interests at heart? This government has failed our veterans. This government has shunned our veterans. This government has turned its back on our veterans, and it's simply not good enough to cap those service entitlements. They are entitlements. They are an eligibility that our veterans deserve.

Then, the Labor government talks about trust. How can you trust a Labor government that does this to Australia's most vulnerable? In the NDIS space, we saw in January that many of those of people who live an hour from a regional hub, who rely on speech therapy, allied health, physiotherapy and all of those things that give them a quality of life that they deserve and set them on the footing for, at least, a reasonable future, had the rug pulled from them because Labor changed the provisions which they'd always had in that space and made the travel component part of the service fee. Many of the service providers who were doing some great work, who were putting Australia's most vulnerable on the path to a better life and a better quality of life then said, 'Well, it's not economical for us to continue to provide that service for those people who live about an hour or so outside of a regional hub such as Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Tamworth, Bendigo, Ballarat or wherever.' And so those people are already vulnerable because they live a long way out of town, and some of them can't get access to travel to get to those regional hubs. It's hard enough when you live in the country to get quality health services, let alone when you're disabled, let alone when you don't have access to transport, let alone when you don't have access to public transport and let alone when the government then pulls the rug from underneath you and you cannot access those services which are going to give you a better quality of life.

So I say to the government: you need to go back to the drawing board. What needs to happen with this Treasury Laws Amendment bill is that it needs to go to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for proper scrutiny. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen, because, obviously, the Labor government wants to do as it always does, and that's push through the legislation. I can remember not that long ago, the Labor government guillotined the appropriations bills from the budget before last, and so there was no ability for members of the opposition to represent their constituents and talk about what the bills meant to the average person out on the street.

This is what this Labor government does. This Labor government came to office in 2022 saying, 'Let the light shine in. Let there be transparency. Allow there to be proper scrutiny of bills,' and they have done the complete opposite with so many things. It's not right, it's not fair, and the public are wise to this. They are wise to this—

 They've certainly worked it out, member for Casey. And they have buyer regret. They do. It's in so many areas. I will admit this bill does contain a range of technical tax measures, many of which are sensible and non-controversial. But when you have the changes to the capital gains provisions which the Prime Minister himself prior to the election—he actually got quite angry at some of the press conferences at the insistence of the journalists daring to ask him a question about CGT—went on and on and on saying that there would be no changes. And yet now at the first opportunity, the first budget since the election, he's changing all that. He's turning it all around because it's in Labor's DNA to take a sledgehammer to aspiration.

It's middle Australia that is going to hurt the most out of this. The fact is that when you take the sledgehammer to aspiration, when you don't allow people to be able to invest, to be able to take the risk and invest, what those people end up doing is having less. When they come to retire, when it comes time for them to enjoy their twilight years, they then become a burden on the government. They then become a burden on the public health system because they don't have the capital that they would have otherwise put away to save for themselves and to save the burden and the economic cost for a future government. And what is that going to mean in the future? It's going to mean more costs. It's going to mean more pensions are going to have to be doled out by this government.

That's what this government wants. It's socialism by stealth because this government wants people to be dependent on it for their livelihoods and for their income to be able to pay the groceries and the fuel and the power bills. And the power bills! Minister, when you get up in parliament and talk about the fact that renewables are saving people money, I mean, really? Seriously? If you honestly believe that, you are living in la-la land.

I have people in my electorate in Yass Valley who are very worried about their investments because their communities are being littered with wind towers on an industrial scale. It's an industrial junkyard. Don't ask me. Ask the mayor of Yass Valley, Councillor Jasmin Jones, who is very worried about the proliferation of wind towers. It wouldn't be in your electorate, Minister. Wouldn't be in your electorate, and shame on you for wanting to cover mine with them.

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026, which is another bill in support of the Albanese Labor government's drive to strengthen the integrity of the tax administration system. I'm going to do something a little different to previous members who have contributed to this debate and actually talk about what's in this bill. In doing so, I seek to do two things. Firstly, I seek to highlight that this bill contains a number of very uncontroversial measures. Secondly, the measures may be uncontroversial, but they're very important on a number of topics for the Australian people, particularly with respect to research and development—which I didn't hear mentioned in the contribution from the previous member. There are important things in this bill that deserve to be highlighted. To start with, it's important that our tax system is modern and easy to use, with compliance costs for individuals, trustees, beneficiaries, business and taxation professionals that are as low as possible. This bill, which is comprised of four schedules, seeks to do just that.

Firstly, schedule 1 is directed at philanthropic giving and removes the requirement that a donation to a deductible gift recipient be valued at $2 or more before the donor may claim an income tax deduction. This removal supports charitable giving and also contains updates that reflect contemporary fundraising practices. This modernisation takes effect by amending the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997 to allow donors to claim a tax deduction on donations to deductible gift recipients under subdivision 30-A even if they are valued at less than $2. There is a background to this, and it stems from the October 2022-23 budget, which led to the Productivity Commission conducting a review of philanthropy as part of the government's election commitment to double philanthropic giving by 2030.

The final report from the Productivity Commission was handed down on 10 May 2024 and included 19 recommendations. The measures contained in schedule 1 to this bill implement one of those recommendations. The modernisation reflected by schedule 1 to the bill relates primarily to point-of-sale round-up schemes with retailers and online vendors. For example, when I go to Petbarn to buy cat food for my cats, I'm always asked whether I wish to round up to make a donation to an animal welfare group. This system, since 2012, has actually helped the Petbarn Foundation itself donate over $25 million to help animal welfare groups and rescue organisations through Australia.

The purpose of these amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act is to continue to encourage these low-value donations because, as I have explained—30c here, $1.50 here—low sums that you don't even notice can make a huge difference to charitable organisations, and that is worth highlighting to this chamber. In section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997, there is a table that sets out the situations where a gift or contribution is deductible, who the recipient of the gift or contribution can be, the type of gifts or contributions that are deductible, how much is deductible and any special conditions.

Schedule 1 to this bill amends that to remove the $2 threshold listed in the 'Special conditions' columns of the table. That means there's no minimum donation amount for the donation to be deductible for a number of organisations and institutions. The removal of the $2 gift threshold is limited to gifts or contributions under subdivision 30-A of the Income Tax Assessment Act. It doesn't extend to donations to political parties—let's be clear on that—candidates or members, including independents. These amendments will have retrospective effect applying from 1 July 2024, so anyone who has donated to a deductible gift recipient since then will enjoy the benefit that this amendment brings.

Then we have schedule 2 to the bill, which operates to again amend the Income Tax Assessment Act to require trustees of closely held trusts to report in the trust's income tax return the quoted tax file numbers of beneficiaries when they have an entitlement. This will be a requirement from 1 July 2026 and will streamline how trustees report tax file numbers, removing reporting on a separate form. What this means is that trustees must report beneficiary tax file numbers at the same time that the trust tax return is lodged for income years that the beneficiary is presently entitled to a share of income of the trust. This requirement replaces the obligation for trustees to lodge a tax file number report for the quarter in which a beneficiary quotes their tax file number to the trustee.

The amendments support efficiency because they support prefilling of beneficiary income tax returns. This amendment also speaks to the integrity of the tax system, because it will help to ensure the right amount of tax is being paid by trustees and beneficiaries on trust income, which is fair to everyone. This is also about improving and digitising trust and beneficiary income reporting to reduce the compliance burden on taxpayers by increasing prefilling capabilities and improving the ATO's processes—again, something that is worth highlighting in this chamber.

Then we have schedule 3, which makes small amendments to legislation within the Treasury portfolio directed at sustaining the government's ongoing commitment to the care and maintenance of Treasury laws. The point is to make sure that the Treasury portfolio of legislation remains current and fit for purpose and continues to work for relevant stakeholders and the broader public. It might be minor and administrative in nature, but it does have significant and important impact.

Finally, we have schedule 4. To the extent that it's possible to have a favourite schedule of a bill about the integrity of the tax system, schedule 4 is my favourite. The background to the amendment proposed by schedule 4 is important, and it's relevant to understanding the amendment's purpose. In MYEFO 2024-25, the Albanese Labor government announced that activities related to gambling and tobacco would be excluded from research and development tax incentive eligibility for income years starting on or after 1 July 2025. The government made this announcement following the ATO's first annual R&D tax incentive transparency report, which was handed down in October 2024 and which provided information on companies that claimed the R&D tax incentive in 2021-22.

Schedule 4 amends the Income Tax Assessment Act to exclude activities related to gambling and tobacco from research and development tax incentive eligibility—except those related to harm minimisation. This amendment is directed at ensuring the community can have confidence that they are not subsidising this kind of research and development, which can exacerbate serious social problems, including health risks, addiction and associated harms. This is research and development relating to all types of gambling and any type of tobacco. With respect to tobacco, activities related to tobacco, as well as nicotine products and vaping goods, are excluded from what is called core and supporting research and development activities.

As I said, R&D directed at harm minimisation is not covered by schedule 4, and that is entirely appropriate. This government recognises that modern, contemporary and effective harm minimisation strategies are critical when it comes to gambling and tobacco and that these strategies are driven by research and development, which focuses on practical, evidence based strategies with the key priorities of safety, health, dignity and the removal of shame and stigma—which is one of the most important factors in harm minimisation, because the removal of shame and stigma surrounding addiction is a key step in helping someone to address a problem.

Indeed, the statutory review of BetStop the National Self-Exclusion Register was tabled in parliament on 25 February this year. First and foremost, the review recognised that BetStop is actually working as a harm reduction strategy. The Prime Minister, during question time on 25 March 2026, noted that there had been a total of 58,000 registrants, with 38 per cent of those people having chosen a lifetime ban. Eighty per cent had experienced better overall quality of life and better mental health. This is important research that has measured the effectiveness of this self-exclusion system, and the results underscore why research of this nature must continue. Secondly, a key finding was that people who had registered for BetStop and who had nominated a support person were experiencing better outcomes from their registration with BetStop. A reason someone might not nominate a support person is that they are ashamed of their addiction and they want to keep it a secret, but a support person can help by providing accountability as well as care and kindness.

So it is important to highlight to this chamber that the carve-out in schedule 4 of this bill for research and development activities that are conducted for the sole purpose of harm minimisation is critical. This might include research directed at stopping addiction, and targeted and dedicated efforts of researching, measuring and implementing further harm minimisation strategies. Research and development that is focused exclusively on harm minimisation will still be eligible for support and, quite rightly, should be eligible for support. For the sake of clarity, and given the importance of this issue, the amendments operate to exclude certain gambling related research, both as a core research and development activity and as a supporting research and development activity. So activities that relate to a gambling service, gambling or gambling-like practice are excluded from being R&D activities.

What does this mean? 'Gambling service' will take the meaning in section 4 of the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 and includes three recognised types of gambling: wagering, lotteries and games involving chance that are played for money or anything of value and which involve consideration, as well as any other gambling service within the ordinary meaning of that expression. The exclusion proposed in schedule 4 of this bill will quite rightly have a broad application.

Then we have the definition of 'gambling-like practice', which is defined by the digital games tax offset definition in the Income Tax Assessment Act. Activities that relate to a gambling-like practice contribute to gambling related harm in the Australian community, particularly by normalising gambling behaviours and increasing exposure. These have been excluded and, again, this is a broad-reaching and appropriate exclusion. Digital games will be unaffected if they don't relate to gambling-like practices.

Then we have the supporting research and development activities, and schedule 4 will operate such that an activity that relates to gambling services, gambling or gambling-like practices is also excluded from being a supporting research and development activity. Importantly, the dominant purpose test that otherwise applies to supporting research and development activities does not apply to these activities, as a more restrictive test is to be applied instead, which speaks to this government's commitment to harm minimisation.

I'm pleased to have shared the nature of schedule 4 to this bill with the chamber. There's a lot going on in this parliament at the moment, and I understand everyone wants to talk about the budget, but the details contained in this bill will have a significantly positive effect on the community. They take away the ability to research gambling and tobacco related activities and place an emphasis on harm minimisation. It is initiatives like this that do deserve to be highlighted and spoken about in this chamber, as they form part of the government's dedicated efforts towards improving harm minimisation. I commend the bill to the House.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand that technical tax legislation might not be enthralling for everyone and might not be everyone's cup of tea, but, like the member for Sturt, I think the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026 is an important piece of legislation. I may not have a favourite schedule, but I do want to take the House through not only what's important about this specific bill but also the importance of Labor's budget overall for everyday working Australians.

We know that right now too many people are feeling the squeeze. They feel it during their weekly shop, they feel it when they're filling up their cars and they feel it when the bills roll in. Cost-of-living pressures are not abstract. They are something Australians are copping every single day. That's why the 2026-27 budget really matters. This budget is about taking practical and responsible steps to ease that pressure. It's about putting money back into people's pockets, and it's about ensuring that support is targeted where it is needed the most. Fundamentally, it's about keeping the economy strong and resilient and robust for the future.

Let's talk about cost-of-living support. This budget includes a range of measures that are designed to take pressure off households. The Albanese Labor government wants Australians to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. That's why, this year and next, Labor is implementing legislated tax cuts that apply to every Australian taxpayer, and today we will find out whether or not those opposite are going to go down that same road of voting against a tax cut for everyone. Today we will find out whether or not they are going to again say no when it comes to a tax cut that Australians so desperately need. Will they repeat their form?

These cuts are designed to provide immediate relief, easing pressure on household budgets and putting additional money directly back into the economy. But we're not stopping there, because Labor is also introducing further ongoing income tax relief to support Australian workers over the long term. This includes a new $250 working Australians tax offset, which will deliver permanent targeted support to help boost take-home pay. Not only that, it creates another piece of architecture within our tax system that can be used into the future. This will take effect for income earned from the second half of 2027, automatically lowering workers' tax obligations for the 2027-28 financial year.

Alongside this, the $1,000 instant tax deduction without receipts will make the tax system simpler and will make it more accessible, cutting red tape while giving workers a fast and straightforward way to claim deductions—no scrapping around for receipts, no looking through shoeboxes. It's something that is easy for people who are busy working, raising their kids and caring for their loved ones. Together, these measures ensure that tax relief is not just a one-off benefit but a sustained effort to support Australians, help people hold on to more of that income and, indeed, strengthen their personal financial security.

Schedule 5 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026 implements an increase to the Medicare levy low-income thresholds. This amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 and the A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge—Fringe Benefits) Act 1999. It will increase the thresholds for singles, families, seniors and pensioners by 2.9 per cent, in line with recent movements in the consumer price index. These changes will mean that Australians on lower incomes will continue to receive important protections when it comes to the Medicare levy.

We all know that Labor mark the genesis of Medicare. We created it, and we don't sit and rest on our laurels when it comes to the important program that is Medicare, because we believe that, when you put something in place, it's important not to just let it sit there. We make it better. We improve it, and that's what this is all about. From 1 July 2025, eligible individuals and families will either remain fully exempt or pay a reduced rate, particularly where their income growth has kept pace with or fallen below increases in the cost of living as measured by the CPI.

Adjusting the low-income thresholds in line with CPI has been a consistent approach taken by successive governments since 1996-97. This longstanding practice reflects a commitment to maintaining fairness in the tax system, ensuring that those with the least capacity to pay are not disproportionately impacted over time. As a result of these changes, more than one million low-income earners are expected to benefit in the 2025-26 financial year. This is meaningful financial relief which helps to ease cost-of-living pressures while preserving access to essential health services that Australians need every day.

This bill will also benefit around 92,000 Australian pensioners who travel overseas for more than six weeks. It doubles the amount of time they can be away before their pension supplement is affected, from six weeks to 12 weeks. This amendment takes into account the ongoing costs that are still incurred at home, such as energy, phone and internet bills, and it will provide travelling pensioners with greater flexibility and financial support when temporarily overseas.

At the same time, the bill introduces a clearer and fairer approach for those who are overseas for longer periods or who choose to live outside Australia on a permanent basis. In these cases, the pension supplement will cease after 12 weeks overseas, or from the time of departure for those relocating indefinitely, rather than continuing at the reduced basic rate. This reflects the original purpose of the basic pension supplement, which was designed to help offset the impact of GST on everyday living expenses in Australia—costs that are generally not incurred in the same way by people living overseas in the long-term.

Importantly, this change does not affect a person's eligibility for the pension itself, nor does it alter how the base pension is calculated. Pension payments will continue to be indexed twice a year, ensuring they keep pace with living costs over time. Overall, this approach ensures the pension supplement is better targeted. It provides additional support to pensioners who live in Australia and travel temporarily, while removing ongoing payments for those no longer facing the same domestic cost pressures. The impact of this measure will be limited, affecting only about five per cent of pensioners. The vast majority will either benefit directly or see no change at all, as they continue to reside in Australia and typically travel overseas for only short periods of time.

The budget is also taking aim at tax system reformation to address critical issues of intergenerational fairness. Labor's reforms will support around 75,000 more Australians into homeownership over the next 10 years, helping more people to achieve the security of owning their own home. When the opposition talks about aspiration, I find it incredibly interesting, because, in my community, people aspire to own their own home. In my community, people aspire to set down roots and build a life. In my community, people aspire to have a place with bricks and mortar where they can plan their family for the future. That is what aspiration looks like.

When we talk about making sure that our nation and particularly our young Australians have something to aspire to, it must start with a home. We know that so many young people right now do not see that as a reality, and that is a problem. It's a problem that we have to fix. It's a problem that cannot simply be talked about. It is a problem that something must be done about, and that is what this budget does. That is what the housing bill does. That is what the cost-of-living relief does. If you don't believe that this is a budget where lower taxes and access to a first home as its core priority is something that you can support, that is an assault on aspiration.

Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax settings will help create a fairer and more balanced housing market. We know that the interaction between the housing market and the tax system is broken. Under these changes, the tax advantages currently associated with negative gearing will be redirected to support investment in newly constructed homes, helping to boost housing supply while improving access for buyers. If you want it, we've got to build one for the country as well. That's about making sure that we address critical housing shortages that haven't just popped up overnight but have been around for 40 years, and that's what this budget is focused on.

Capital gains tax arrangements will be reformed, replacing the existing framework with a system that indexes the assets cost base and introduces a minimum tax rate of 30 per cent on capital gains. These reforms are necessary in the current environment and reflect longstanding shifts in Australia's housing market. Since 1999, house prices have risen at more than twice the rate of average full-time wages. The question is: if you're a nurse working shift work, if you're working at the checkout at your local supermarket, if you're working as an early childhood care educator, why should you be taxed more than someone sitting on an asset?

Over the same period, particularly in the first two decades of this century, homeownership among Australians aged 25 to 34 has declined by seven percentage points, highlighting the growing challenges younger people face in entering the housing market. The reforms are designed to address these pressures and to improve access for younger Australians.

From 1 July 2027, as mentioned, negative gearing will be limited to investments in new residential properties only. At the same time, the existing 50 per cent of CGT discounts for individuals, trusts and partnerships will be replaced with a system that indexes that cost base. Importantly, these changes are structured to protect current investments. Properties owned before the announcement on 12 May 2026 will not be affected by the new negative gearing rules, and the revised CGT settings will only apply to gains made after the reforms come into effect in July 2027. These changes are designed and intended to support the construction of new housing. They're designed to make it easier for first home buyers to compete in the market and to rebalance the tax system, so it puts less pressure on workers while still recognising the role that investors have to play in our economy.

Labor is also investing an additional $2 billion in enabling infrastructure to unlock the construction of up to 65,000 more homes, bringing our Homes for Australia Plan to more than $47 billion. The Albanese Labor government is also providing $59.4 million to states and territories to help secure social housing for more than 4,000 eligible young people at risk of homelessness. That's important work.

Labor is delivering meaningful cost-of-living relief right now, and it's directed at Australians who need it the most. This budget is helping households manage today's pressures, and it's also building a more productive and resilient economy that can create jobs and drive growth into the future. At the same time, Labor is working towards a tax system that is fairer, a tax system that is simpler, a tax system that is more sustainable and a tax system that ensures everyone pays their fair share while supporting opportunity and aspiration. The aspiration of owning one's own home is at the heart of this budget. We're addressing the challenges in our housing market now and taking practical steps to improve affordability and accessibility so more Australians can achieve that great dream of having a place to call home.

The budget strengthens the nation's finances, delivering a budget that is responsible today and sustainable in the long term. Real relief for Australians is not simply about the here and now, and the short term; it's about building stronger foundations for the future.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank those members who have contributed to this debate.

Schedule 1 to the bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026, removes the requirement that a donation to a deductible gift recipient be valued at $2 or more before the donor may claim an income tax deduction. This threshold is an anachronism that does not reflect innovations in fundraising. The government has an ambition of doubling giving by 2030, and this will contribute towards that.

Schedule 2 to the bill requires trustees to report, in the trust's income tax return, the quoted tax file number of beneficiaries when they have an entitlement. These changes, which apply from 1 July 2026, are part of modernising tax administration systems, helping to ensure the right amount of tax is paid by trustees and beneficiaries.

Schedule 3 to the bill makes minor and technical amendments to legislation within the Treasury portfolio. These amendments ensure that Treasury portfolio legislation remains fit for purpose and continues to work for relevant stakeholders and the broader public.

Schedule 4 to the bill will amend eligibility for the research and development tax incentive to exclude activities relating to gambling and tobacco from 1 July 2025. The exclusions will ensure that the community is not subsidising this type of research and development. Activities that are conducted solely for harm minimisation remain eligible to receive support. Regarding schedule 4, I acknowledge the amendment moved by the member for Mayo. The government takes seriously our responsibility to protect Australians, particularly children and young people, from the harms of online gambling. New reforms announced by the government earlier this year will minimise children's exposure to the harms of wagering advertising, break the link between sports and wagering, and reduce the saturation and targeting of wagering advertising.

This builds on reforms our government has already delivered by legislating a ban on the use of credit cards for online wagering, implementing monthly activity statements so Australians who gamble online can clearly see their wins and losses, and establishing mandatory preverification to prevent children and people who have self-excluded from placing an online bet. The government is taking decisive action to tackle concerns associated with gambling across the board, including through schedule 4 of this bill.

The government has also circulated two amendments to this bill which act to further strengthen the integrity and fairness of our financial ecosystems. As per these amendments, schedule 5 to the bill will increase the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for singles, families and seniors and pensioners by 2.9 per cent. These changes ensure low-income households continue to be exempt from paying the Medicare levy or pay a reduced levy rate from 1 July 2025 if their incomes have increased in line with or less than recent movements in the consumer price index.

Schedule 6 to the bill includes changes to better target payment of the pension supplement for recipients who travel or live overseas and ensure it remains sustainable into the future. The pension supplement is designed to assist with certain living costs in Australia. These changes balance providing increased support for pensioners who travel overseas for short periods but still have ongoing costs in Australia and ceasing this support for those who are absent from Australia on a long-term or permanent basis and no longer have the same costs.

This bill delivers a more efficient and fair framework for Australia's tax and pension systems. I commend the bill to the House.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this, the honourable member for Mayo has moved, as an amendment, that all words after 'that' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The immediate question is that that amendment be agreed to.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that further consideration of the bill be made an order of the day for the next sitting.