Budget support to ease

cost-of-living pressure

One of the key points in handing down the State Government's budget, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said that it was essential to ease the cost of living. The Government will invest an estimated $189 million in a bulk billing initiative to ensure the cost of seeing a GP remains accessible for people across NSW. This will be of great benefit to people on the Central Coast that are struggling to see a doctor.

 

The budget also encompassed a number of benefits for 'Coasties' to lessen the impact of the current cost-of-living crisis being experienced by many local families.

19 June 2024

 

THE Bulk-Billing Support Initiative will legislate to provide:

 

• A new ongoing payroll tax rebate for contractor GPs at clinics that meet bulk-billing thresholds

 

• A waiver for past unpaid payroll tax liability for contractor GP wages to 4 September 2024.

 

This initiative will protect bulk-billing rates by reducing financial pressures on GP practices so they don’t pass on additional costs to patients and will save clinics from closure.

 

This will also reduce the strain on the State’s busy hospital emergency departments. NSW Health estimates that a one per cent decrease in bulk-billing equates to around 3,000 additional emergency presentations.

 

Once enacted, the NSW Government will give an ongoing payroll tax rebate for contractor GP wages to be provided to clinics with bulk-billing rates above 80 per cent in metropolitan Sydney, and above 70 per cent in the rest of the state.

 

The Bulk-Billing Support Initiative will help address the significant cost-of-living pressures felt by families and households across NSW. A recent survey revealed that:

 

• 72 per cent are quite concerned or extremely concerned about the cost of healthcare

 

• 48 per cent of adults are cutting back on healthcare appointments due to affordability

 

• 37 per cent of parents are cutting back on appointments for their children due to affordability.

 

For the last five years, medical peak bodies have been warning that failure to address the issue could see GPs charge patients as much as an additional $20 per appointment.

 

This resolves uncertainty around the applicability of payroll tax on contractor GPs, which first arose in 2018 under the previous Liberal-National state government.

 

The initiative also addresses the unique and unprecedented cost pressures GPs are under after the former Liberal-National Commonwealth Government froze bulk-billing indexation for a decade.

 

To relieve pressure on GPs, in September 2023, the Minns Labor Government legislated a 12-month pause on payroll tax audits for GP practices and tax penalties and interest accrued on outstanding debts.

 

Since the pause was enacted, the Government worked closely with Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Australian Medical Association (AMA) to develop the support initiative.

 

NSW will be the first state to legislate a full retrospective waiver for past unpaid payroll tax liabilities for contractor GP wages. This will save local clinics.

 

AMA's Dr Michael Bonning said “AMA NSW welcomes the decision by the NSW Minns Government to legislate to guarantee no retrospective payroll tax liability for general practice. The Minns Government will be the first state to offer this guarantee in legislation.

 

“Minister Park and Minister Houssos have been responsive to the concerns of general practice from the moment they took their portfolios. Minister Park has shown his commitment to the important role of general practice in the NSW Health system.

 

“Legislating ‘no retrospectivity’ will provide certainty for practices and will minimise the risk of more closures of general practices in NSW.

 

“Unfortunately, general practice continues to struggle with decades of underfunding from the previous Commonwealth Government.”

 

The former Liberal-National Government’s failure on this issue particularly impacted regional and rural GP clinics. In providing a targeted rebate for those clinics, we can protect primary care for families and households in those communities.

 

Maintaining a consistent approach to payroll tax is an important objective of the NSW Government. The introduction of this support initiative recognises the overriding public interest in GPs delivering care for families and households.

 

RACGP NSW and ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said “The RACGP applauds the NSW Government exempting GPs from retrospective payroll tax. This gives GPs across NSW certainty that they can continue to operate and keep their doors open for patients, without fear of being hit with a huge tax bill that will shut them down.

 

“The RACGP thanks Ministers Houssos and Park for negotiating with the college in good faith and for understanding the devastating impact retrospective tax would have on NSW practices, patients, and our state’s health system. We appreciate the very tight budgetary constraints the NSW Government is under and know this decision wasn’t taken lightly.

 

“The tax arrangements going forward will reduce future liabilities and will go a long way to ensuring NSW practices remain viable and open for patients, and those that are bulk-billing may continue.”

 

This is part of a budget that will prioritise rebuilding essential services – ensuring we have the essential services the people of NSW rely on and that keeps our communities safe.

 

Other Budget benefits for the Central Coast

 

Central Coast communities will benefit from safer and more reliable road and transport infrastructure as a result of the 2024-25 NSW Budget.

 

The Minns Government’s second budget invests in regional roads and bridges that will improve travel times for communities and support safer, more productive movement of freight in the regions, including around the Central Coast.

 

To save lives and protect communities, the road safety budget will be increased to $2.8 billion across the state, and flood damaged state and local roads on the Central Coast will benefit from $3.3 billion in funding across NSW for restoration works.

 

Health:

 

• Wyong Hospital Redevelopment Stage 1: $6.4 million, which includes expanding the hospital’s Cancer Day Unit. This aims to enhance local healthcare infrastructure, addressing critical needs in the community.

 

• $480.7 million Emergency Department Relief Package

 

• Helping to avoid an estimated 290,000 visits to emergency departments each year. Including, $171.4 million to expand services through the Single Front Door services accessible via Healthdirect, saving 180,000 trips to the ED each year.

 

• $70 million statewide to expand emergency department short stay units to improve patient flow to reduce ED wait times by nearly 80,000 hours.

 

Education:

 

• Local School Upgrades: $1.4 million allocated for upgrades across the Central Coast, including Killarney Vale Public School, Central Mangrove Public School and Umina Beach Public School as part of our commitment to enhancing educational facilities.

 

• Permanent Education Staff: Ensuring stability, with 778 Central Coast-based education staff being made permanent, which is crucial for continuity and quality in local education services.

 

• Committing $83.1 million over the next four years to retain expert TAFE NSW teachers, who train the State’s skilled workforce. This includes the conversion of teachers to permanent employment and delivering the largest pay increase in over a decade.

 

• Early Childhood Education Scholarships

 

• $17.1 million to deliver scholarships and professional learning for early childhood educators, with more than 2,000 scholarships already awarded, including 60 in the Gosford electorate.

 

• $430 million in fee relief for 2024-25, delivering $500 in fee relief for up to 64,000 families.

 

Transport and Roads:

 

• Gosford Bypass Planning: $3 million (as part of a $40 million commitment over 4 years) towards the continuation of the planning and design phases of the Gosford Bypass, aiming to alleviate traffic congestion and improve regional connectivity.

 

• Tumbi Road and Central Coast Highway Intersection: $1.8 million (as part of a total $65.5 million commitment by the NSW and Australian Government) towards upgrades including traffic lights at this critical intersection, enhancing local transport infrastructure and safety.

 

• $13.6 million to commence construction on Central Coast intersection improvement works at Blackwall Road and McMasters Road.

 

• $216.3 million for continued planning and early works for upgrade of Pacific Highway through Wyong CBD

 

Housing:

 

• Social housing upgrades: $4.56 million for upgrades to social housing across The Entrance electorate

 

• $6.6 billion Building Homes Program to to build 11,000 new social housing homes

 

• Build 8,400 new public homes, half of which will be dedicated to women and families experiencing domestic violence.

 

• Repair 33,500 public homes in desperate need of repair – the biggest investment in public housing maintenance ever.

 

• Invest in $3.38 million for upgrades to social housing properties across the Gosford Electorate.

 

• Record funding of homelessness services and crisis accommodation services.

 

• Deliver over 21,000 affordable and market homes across our state.

 

• Protecting our renters  with an $8.4 million investment into the work of the Rental Commissioner – delivering investigators, inspectors and support teams to engage with renters, target dodgy agents and act on serious breaches of rental laws.

 

Supporting our essential services:

 

• $189.5 million over four years to provide job security for hundreds of firefighters statewide. Saving 300 firefighters roles left unfunded by the former Coalition government.

 

Minister for Central Coast David Harris said “This budget prioritises building better communities for NSW and ensures we have the roads and transport infrastructure to improve the lives of people across the Central Coast and all our regions.

 

“The Central Coast has been waiting for these projects for a number of years so it’s great that a Labor Government is able to deliver on the funding.”

 

Member for The Entrance, David Mehan said that there has been significant investments across health, education, housing and roads for the people of The Entrance community.

 

"The budget provides cost-of-living relief for those struggling including expanding the energy rebates, continuing toll relief and increasing the wages for essential workers," Mr Mehan said.

 

“These investments underscore a comprehensive approach by the Minns’ Labor government to address key community needs in health, education, transport, and local infrastructure.

 

“Despite economic challenges and record state debt, the budget reflects a commitment to supporting the people of The Entrance to navigate and overcome these challenges effectively.”

 

Liesl Tesch, Member for Gosford, said “this Budget is about building better communities for NSW by prioritising housing supply, and essential infrastructure. There is a lot more to do, however we are focused on building a better NSW for everyone in our community.

 

“The NSW Government is committed to making responsible choices to care for our community and we will continue to build a brighter future for the people of Gosford.”

 

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said that the 2024-25 NSW Budget delivers on the Government’s commitment to strengthen the regions, especially here on the Central Coast.

 

“It includes a plan to build safer, well connected regional communities by investing in the infrastructure they need,” she said.