2022 Federal Budget – Highlights for SA businesses

• $12.9 million over three years from 2022–23 to establish Jobs and Skills Australia to provide national leadership and advice on Australia’s labour market, and skills and training needs.
• 480,000 fee-free TAFE places and a $50 million TAFE Technology Fund to modernise TAFEs.
• 20,000 additional university places for disadvantaged Australians.
• Boosting the Work Bonus income bank to give older Australians the option to work and keep more of their pension.
• Expansion of Flinders Medical Centre confirmed with $200 million over six years.
• Establish a South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Taskforce, within the existing resources of the Department of Defence, to support the growth of a skilled defence industry workforce in South Australia.
• $113.6 million over four years from 2022–23 to support local industry to secure and support new jobs, and strengthen key domestic manufacturing capabilities in regional areas.
• The government is addressing growing skills demands in the clean energy sector by committing over $100 million to the New Energy Apprenticeships and New Energy Skills programs.

• $10.9 million towards the NewAccess for Small Business Owner program, operated by BeyondBlue. This telehealth program provides small business owners with up to six sessions with trained mental health professionals who have backgrounds in the SME space. No GP referral or mental health plan is required to take part.
• $4 million for Small Business Debt Helpline, a free-to-use service offered by Financial Counselling Australia. The helpline connects SME participants with independent advice on how to manage debt, irrespective of an individual’s particular financial hardship.

• $62.6 million over three years, from 2022–23, to support small to medium enterprises to fund energy efficient equipment upgrades. The funding will support studies, planning, equipment and facility upgrade projects that will improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions or improve the management of power demand.
• $20 billion to expand and modernise Australia’s electricity grid.

The Australian Government has committed to work with small business, unions, workers and industry to deliver a simpler, more accessible and fairer workplace relations system.

• $3.4 million over four years from 2022–23 to support the development and delivery of education, technical advice and support services targeting the needs of small business employers to support the implementation of the government’s election commitment to legislate ten days of paid family and domestic violence leave.
• $7.9 million over four years for the Fair Work Commission to support uptake of enterprise bargaining for small business.
• $5.8 million over four years to support education and compliance associated with introducing the positive “respect@work” duty on employers.
• $2.1 million over four years to establish one-stop shop for workplace sexual harassment information including support service referrals and employer responsibilities.

• $15.4 million over four years from 2022–23 (and $2.8 million per year ongoing) to establish the Startup Year program to deliver income-contingent Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loans of up to $11,300 to 2,000 recent graduates, postgraduate and final year undergraduate students per year.

• $18.6 million in Digital Solutions grants for advisory service providers to help small businesses wanting to get online to access high quality, independent advice at low cost.
• Funding to improve mobile and broadband connectivity and resilience in rural and regional Australia.
• Reaffirms tax deductions – the Technology Investment Boost and Skills and Training Boost providing an extra 20% deduction.

• $14.2 million over four years from 2022–23 to develop a National Rail Manufacturing Plan to ensure more trains are built in Australia, support skilled manufacturing and expand the local rail industry.
• $1.6 million over two years from 2022–23 to implement Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling to support the Australian seafood industry.
• $1.9 billion to assist industries, regional Australia and communities with net zero transition, including a review of the carbon credit market and reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism.