Australians are in for a wide-ranging shake-up of their finances and daily costs when the new financial year begins on July 1.
Changes will affect tax, wages, superannuation, welfare payments, Medicare rules, migration settings, and business compliance.
Households are expected to feel the impact quickly, with some receiving modest tax relief for their pay packets while others face new administrative requirements and rising fees.
Tax cuts and deductions
The lowest marginal tax rate will be reduced from 16 per cent to 15 per cent for income between $18,201 and $45,000.
The change will deliver up to $268 in savings over the next financial year for affected taxpayers.
Further reductions are already locked in, with the rate set to fall to 14 per cent from July 2027, lifting annual savings to as much as $536.
The government is also preparing a new instant tax deduction for workers from the 2026–27 financial year.
The policy will allow eligible taxpayers to claim up to $1,000 in work-related deductions without keeping receipts.
More than six million workers are expected to benefit, with average savings of around $205.
Wages and parental leave
Low-income earners will also see a pay rise from July 1.
The national minimum wage will increase by 4.75 per cent, taking the weekly rate to $1,004.90 or $26.44 per hour.
The Fair Work Commission has framed the rise as part of broader efforts to support household incomes amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
It amounts to a real wage increase, but Sky News business editor Ross Greenwood said it would not help the government’s inflation fight amid fears of a wage-price spiral.
“The thing that the Reserve Bank has talked about for a long time is you don’t want a prices wages spiral,” Greenwood said.
“In other words, one chases another, and so as a result you end up not being able to defeat inflation.
“This is certainly not going to be defeating inflation.”
Families will also see changes to parental leave entitlements.
Paid Parental Leave will expand from 120 days to 130 days for children born or adopted from July 1.
The number of days reserved for partners will increase from 15 to 20, extending flexibility for new parents.
Super and pension changes
Superannuation rules will shift under a new “Payday Super” system.
Employers will be required to pay super at the same time wages are paid, rather than quarterly.
The change is aimed at improving retirement outcomes and reducing unpaid super balances.
Pension and welfare payments will also increase through indexation.
Changes apply across a range of support programs, including the Disability Support Pension, Youth Allowance and several family assistance payments.
Age pension income thresholds will also rise.
Single pensioners will be able to earn up to $226 per fortnight before payments are reduced, while couples will have a combined threshold of $396.
Power bills and fuel relief
From July 1, most households on regulated Default Market Offer (DMO) plans in New South Wales and Southeast Queensland will receive lower electricity bills.
Customers on standard flat-rate DMO plans will see prices fall by as much as 5 per cent in NSW and 7.2 per cent in South East Queensland.
South Australian households on the same plans will face a 1.4 per cent increase.
For customers on time-of-use tariffs, larger reductions are expected. Bills will fall by up to 7.7 per cent in NSW, 10.7 per cent in South East Queensland and 1.1 per cent in South Australia.
However, the changes will affect only a small share of consumers, with fewer than 10 per cent of households currently on DMO contracts.
Customers on market offers should check communications from their retailer, as some may still face price rises.
Motorists will continue to benefit from a temporary fuel excise reduction.
Petrol and diesel prices will remain about 16c per litre lower than usual through July following a one-month extension.
The measure is expected to save drivers around $11 per tank.
Medicare and healthcare rules
The income thresholds for the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) are set to rise.
The starting point will increase to $105,000 for individuals and $210,000 for families.
The MLS is a tax applied on top of the standard 2 per cent Medicare levy and is charged to higher-income earners who do not hold private hospital insurance.
The threshold changes mean some Australians will be able to earn more before the surcharge applies.
Under expanding rules rolling out for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), providers who work in support roles must register with the NDIS quality and safeguards commission.
Visa and migration changes
Skilled migration income thresholds will rise under annual indexation.
The Core Skills Income Threshold will increase to $79,499, while the Specialist Skills Income Threshold will lift to $146,717.
The changes apply to employer-sponsored visas including subclasses 482, 494 and 186.
Most visa application fees will also increase by around 3 per cent.
Business and anti-scam reforms
Businesses will face a series of regulatory changes from July 1.
The $20,000 instant asset write-off will be extended for eligible small businesses with turnover under $10 million.
Hospitality venues serving seafood will be required to disclose whether products are Australian or imported.
ASIC business name registration and renewal fees will also increase.
Tougher anti-money laundering rules will expand to cover more businesses, requiring some operators to register with AUSTRAC, verify customer identities and report transactions.
Anti-scam protection will also be strengthened.
Messages from businesses that fail to register their SMS sender IDs will be labelled “Unverified”, helping consumers identify potential scam activity.
The changes follow reports Australians lost nearly $18 million to SMS scams in the past year.