2023-2024 Federal Budget - Employment

Employment

Increase in Working Age Payments

The Government will provide $4.9 billion over 5 years from 2022-23 (with $1.3 billion per year ongoing) to increase support for people receiving working-age payments including the JobSeeker Payment. This measure will:

• increase the base rate of working age and student payments by $40 per fortnight. This increase applies to the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance, Parenting Payment (Partnered), Austudy, ABSTUDY, Disability Support Pension (Youth), and Special Benefit. It will commence on 20 September 2023
• extend eligibility for the existing higher single JobSeeker Payment rate for recipients aged 60 years and over to recipients aged 55 years and over who are on the payment for 9 or more continuous months.

The increased support for recipients aged 55 years and over, the majority of whom are women, acknowledges the additional challenges older Australians face in re-entering the workforce, such as age discrimination or poor health. The measure is expected to increase personal income tax receipts by $220.0 million over 3 years from 2024-25 (with $80.0 million per year ongoing).

Budget Speech p 5
Budget Paper No 2 p 199
Regional Budget Statement p 49
Cost of Living Fact Sheet

Funding Pay Increases for Aged Care Workers

The Government will provide $515.0 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $956.9 million over 10 years from 2022-23) to fund the outcome of the Fair Work Commission's decision on the Aged Care Work Value Case. The decision was to increase award wages by 15 per cent from 30 June 2023 for many aged care workers including registered nurses, enrolled nurses, assistants in nursing, personal care workers, home care workers, recreational activity officers, and some head chefs and cooks. Funding includes:

• $311.2 million for a new grant program for Commonwealth Home Support Programme providers to cover the cost of the increase in award wages
• $98.7 million for a new grant program to fund historical leave provisions for Commonwealth-funded aged care providers
• $58.9 million for a targeted indexation boost to funding for the Indigenous Employment Initiative, Multi-Purpose Service Program, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program, and Trusted Indigenous Facilitators program
• $6.7 million for a transition grant to provide temporary viability support for residential aged-care providers
• $2.0 million for a transition grant to cover any potential shortfall for care recipients under the Home Care Packages Program
• $37.4 million in implementation costs for the Department of Health and Aged Care and Services Australia.

This measure will be partially offset by redirecting funding from the 2023-24 Budget measure titled Improving the Investment in Aged Care. The Budget also includes $10.9 billion over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $29.2 billion over 10 years from 2022-23) to meet the cost of the Aged Care Work Value case with funding to other aged care programs including residential aged care and the Home Care Packages Program, which will be delivered through increases that will flow through program indexation.

Budget Speech p 7
Budget Paper No 2 p 131
Budget Overview p 20
Cost of Living Fact Sheet
Media Release

Closing the Gap - further investment

The Government will provide $492.7 million over 5 years from 2022-23 for a range of measures to support critical investment in infrastructure, employment, justice, education, and housing initiatives for First Nations peoples, including:

• $97.7 million over 3 years from 2022-23 to support the development of a New Jobs Program trial to replace the Community Development Program (CDP) and to meet increased demand for the CDP as a result of sustained higher levels of demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
• $38.4 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to improve access to better education and address learning gaps in First Nations primary and secondary education through culturally appropriate distance learning and expanding the on-country junior ranger program
• $21.6 million in 2023-24 to extend the Indigenous Boarding Providers grants program for rural and remote First Nations students for an additional year

The cost of this measure will be partially offset and met within the existing resourcing of the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the Department of Social Services.

Budget Paper No 2 p 190
Budget Overview p 53
Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Fact Sheet
Media Release

Employment and Workplace Relations - reprioritisation

The Government will achieve savings of $212.9 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $41.4 million per year ongoing) across the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio which will be redirected to fund other portfolio policy priorities. Savings include:

• $111.6 million over 4 years from 2023-24 by reducing place allocations for the Self-Employment Assistance Small Business Coaching program to more accurately reflect the utilisation of places
• $27.5 million over 4 years from 2023-24 by temporarily reducing uncommitted Industry Workforce Training program funding
• $22.8 million over 4 years from 2023-24 by ceasing the Entrepreneurship Facilitators Program from 1 July 2023
• $20.0 million over 4 years from 2023-24 by temporarily reducing uncommitted funding to support Job and Skills Councils
• $15.8 million over 4 years from 2023-24 by reducing the departmental operating funding of the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman by 2.5 per cent
• $10.4 million over two years from 2022-23 by not proceeding with the Accelerating Australian Apprenticeships Pilot program
• $3.9 million over two years from 2022-23 by rescoping the Skills Assessments Pilots to align with current demand trends
• $1.1 million in 2023-24 by ceasing the Career Revive program on 30 June 2023.

Budget Paper No 2 p 106

Visa and Migration System

The Government will provide $125.8 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to continue implementing outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit to strengthen the migration system in order to ease critical skills shortages across the economy and build a more productive workforce. Funding includes:

• $75.8 million over two years from 2023-24 to extend the current surge in visa processing resources to ensure timeliness of visa processing and improve existing visa processing systems
• $50.0 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $15.3 million per year ongoing) for additional enforcement and compliance activities to maintain the integrity of the migration system. Funding from 2025-26 will be held in the Contingency Reserve, pending an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities.

This component builds on the 2022-23 October Budget measure titled Outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit. In addition, the Government will return funding of $163.2 million over two years from 2022-23 to the Department of Home Affairs to continue its visa processing capabilities, recognising the cancellation of the Global Digital Platform, associated with the 2016-17 Budget savings measure titled Reforming the Visa and Migration Framework, by the former Government. The Government will also provide a permanent visa pathway for Temporary Protection (subclass 785) visa (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise (subclass 790) visa (SHEV) holders who held or applied for a TPV or SHEV before 14 February 2023. The pathway to permanent residency is estimated to increase payments for government services and benefits by $732.5 million over 5 years from 2022-23. This measure is estimated to have a negligible impact on receipts over the 5 years from 2022-23.

Budget Paper No 2 p 161

National Net Zero Authority

The Government will provide $83.2 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to establish a national Net Zero Authority (the Authority) to promote orderly and positive economic transformation associated with decarbonisation and energy system change in regional areas, including support for impacted workers. As an interim step, an agency will be established from 1 July 2023, initially within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, to lead the design and establishment of the Authority and to perform functions of the Authority, pending formal establishment of the Authority. This measure builds on the 2022-23 October Budget measure titled Prime Minister and Cabinet - additional resourcing. The Government will consider future funding for the Authority after the design work has been finalised, with the Government having provisioned ongoing funding for the Authority in the Contingency Reserve.

Budget Speech p 8
Budget Paper No 2 p 192
Budget Overview p 33
Building a Clean Energy Future Fact Sheet
Media Release

Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce

The Government will provide $72.4 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to support the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector to build and retain the ECEC workforce. Funding includes:

• $34.4 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to subsidise ECEC services to backfill up to 75,000 early childhood educators, early childhood teachers, and centre directors to undertake mandatory or highly recommended training, or to pay an allowance to the educator if training is undertaken outside work hours
• $33.1 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to provide financial assistance for up to 6,000 educators in the ECEC sector to undertake a paid practicum in initial teacher education courses at a bachelor or post-graduate level
• $4.8 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to support up to 2,000 ECEC workers to undertake a practicum exchange at a different service, with a living allowance for students undertaking a practicum in a rural or remote location.

The initiatives will prioritise support for First Nations educators, and educators in regional and remote areas. The cost of this measure will be met from savings identified in the 2023-24 Budget measures titled Child Care Subsidy Reform - additional integrity and Education - reprioritisation.

Budget Paper No 2 p 99
Budget Overview p 21
Media Release

Supported Employment

The Government will provide $57.0 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to support the evolution of the supported employment sector, following the recent Fair Work Commission decision on the Supported Employment Services Award 2020 and other changes impacting the sector. Funding includes:

• $35.0 million over 3 years from 2023-24 to establish a structural adjustment fund to assist supported employment organisations to evolve their business models
• $11.7 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to establish a targeted disability employment advocacy service and information program for supported employees
• $6.0 million over 3 years from 2023-24 to evaluate existing supported employment initiatives and trials, pilot job expos for supported employees and their families, and help organisations transition to the revised award
• $3.2 million over two years from 2023-24 to extend the Job Access Complaints Resolution and Referral Service and the National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline
• $1.1 million in 2023-24 to undertake initial research, design, and consultation work in preparation for the delivery of the Government's election commitment to establish a Disability Employment Centre of Excellence.

The cost of this measure will be met by reprioritising funding from the Department of Social Services Program 3.1 (Disability and Carers).

Budget Paper No 2 p 204

Targeted Support for Apprenticeships

The Government will provide additional funding of $54.3 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to introduce a new non-financial support model for Australian Apprenticeships from 1 July 2024. The model will redesign and refocus key support services currently delivered by the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network to increase apprenticeship completion rates and the diversity of the apprentice workforce. Grant funding of $5.0 million over 3 years from 2024-25 will be provided to organisations with appropriate expertise in supporting women in the workplace, to further support women in historically male-dominated trade apprenticeships. This will include providing education, advice, or support to increase culturally safe and inclusive workplaces, reduce the cultural barriers to women's participation, address workplace challenges, and support businesses to attract and retain women. The new model will also provide support to women who commence their non-traditional trade apprenticeships prior to 1 July 2024 during their transition to new service arrangements.

Budget Speech p 10
Budget Paper No 2 p 109
Budget Overview p 41
Cost of Living Relief Fact Sheet
Building a Clean Energy Future Fact Sheet
Media Release

Migration Program - 2023-24 planning levels

For the 2023-24 permanent Migration Program, the Government will return the planning level to the longer-term level of 190,000 places and will allocate 137,100 places (around 70 per cent) to the Skill stream, helping address Australia's longer-term skill needs. The Government will improve pathways to permanency for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa holders. Restrictions will be removed to enable TSS visa holders on the short-term stream access to permanent residence pathways through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa. The limit of one onshore renewal for the short-term stream TSS visa will also be removed. This permanent Migration Program measure is estimated to decrease receipts by $30.0 million and decrease payments by $66.4 million over the 5 years from 2022-23. Improving pathways to permanency for TSS visa holders is estimated to result in an unquantifiable impact on receipts and increase payments by $0.6 million over the 5 years from 2022-23.

Budget Paper No 2 p 10
Media Release

Migration - raising the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT)

The Government will increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold from the current rate of $53,900 to $70,000 from 1 July 2023. This reflects the level it would have reached if it was indexed to wages when it was last adjusted 10 years ago. Resetting the income threshold will ensure that the skilled migration program remains focused on its objective of attracting skilled migrants who complement the skills of the Australian workforce. This measure is estimated to decrease receipts by $100.0 million and result in a negligible impact on GST payments to the states and territories over the 5 years from 2022-23. This measure meets the Government's election commitment as published in the Plan for a Better Future, and outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit.

Budget Paper No 2 p 8
Media Release