The Albanese Government is getting straight to work, delivering more help with the cost of living, more investment in the next generation and more support for working Australians.

The changes from July 1 include:

• $10,000 for construction apprentices now available under the Housing Construction Apprenticeship Program (HCAP). Eligible apprentices will be entitled to a total of $10,000 in incentive payments, on top of their wages, over the life of their apprenticeship to work in housing construction. Apprentices will receive $2,000 at six, 12, 24, 36 months, and at the completion of their apprenticeship. Sectors captured under the HCAP include carpentry, joinery, plumbing, electrical, glazier, locksmith, and roof plumbing/tiling. This initiative will work alongside the New Energy stream, ensuring we build the workforce required for Australia’s transition to net zero.
• An increase to the Living Away From Home Allowance will support apprentices who need to travel away from their family home to access work and training – the Allowance has now increased to:
• $120 per week in the first year (an increase of $42.83)
• $90 per week in the second year (an increase of $51.41
• and $45 per week in the third year (an increase of $20)
• The Disability Australian Apprentice Wage Support program provides wage support for employers to assist with employing apprentices with disability, access to off-the-job tutorial, mentor and interpreter assistance. The Wage Support payment will increase to $216.07 per week from the current rate of $104.30, with the payment to be indexed from 1 July each year.
• 30% off home batteries for solar.
• Paid Pracs for nursing, teaching, social work and midwifery students.
• Superannuation guarantee increases from 11.5% to 12%.
• 3.5% pay rise for all minimum wage and award wage workers.
• $150 in energy bill relief for every household.
• Extra two weeks of paid parental leave and superannuation on paid parental leave.
• $20,000 Instant asset write off extended for another year.
• $1.8 billion in hospital funding to help Australians get the quality healthcare they deserve. In Victoria, funding is up 12% to $8.18 billion, compared to last financial year.
• More choice, lower costs for high-quality care for Australian women with four new Medicare items to support longer consultation times and higher rebates for specialised gynaecological care.
• New menopause and perimenopause health assessments now available under Medicare.
• More Australians living with cystic fibrosis now have access to a life changing treatment option under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The PBS listing for Trikafta will be expended to include CG patients who have at least one CF transmembrane conductance regulator gene mutation that is responsive to treatment.
• The Albanese Labor Government is delivering on its commitment to help ease cost of living pressures in remote First Nations communities, with a new subsidy scheme for food and essential items.
• The new $3.9 billion National Access to Justice Partnership 2025-30 (NAJP) commences, replacing the National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020-25 and delivering a critical increase of $800 million in funding over 5 years from 2025-26 to the legal assistance sector. This is the largest ever Commonwealth investment in legal assistance.

The Albanese Government is focused on delivering a positive difference for every Australian and turning promises into action.