Here are some key points.<\/p>\n
Health insurance rebate balancing<\/p>\n
The budget plans to remove age as a determinant for the private health insurance rebate from April 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
The Howard-era decision to give over-65s a more generous insurance rebate has been scrapped.<\/p>\n
More than 3 million Australians aged over 65 will have to pay hundreds of dollars more for their private health insurance a year.<\/p>\n
In total, the older Australians will be left to fork out an extra $240 a year, or more.<\/p>\n
Before the latest budget, people aged 65 to 69 could claim 28 per cent of their private insurance premiums, and for anyone over 70, that figure increased to 32 per cent.<\/p>\n
Anyone under 65 can claim a 24 per cent rebate.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/accd1b6e8da8860c950f7efaff28bee1.jpeg\")
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Mark Butler says the previous system was not fair between generations. (AAP: Lukas Coch)<\/p>\n
Health Minister Mark Butler said<\/a> older Australians would no longer get special treatment because the older system was “not fair between generations”.<\/p>\n “I understand this won’t be a welcome decision for many, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said in a pre-budget speech earlier this week.<\/p>\n The government expects 44,000 older Australians to ditch their private health insurance as a result.<\/p>\n According to the budget documents, the change will mean a saving of $11 billion from 2025\u201326 to 2036\u201337.<\/p>\n But that saving is for the government, and follows the line stated throughout the documents of “aligning private health insurance rebate entitlements across age groups to strengthen intergenerational equity”.<\/p>\n Cheaper medicine on PBS<\/p>\n Part of the budget is aimed at making new and amended listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) cheaper.<\/p>\n The government will provide $5.9 billion for those listings on the PBS that are new or have been amended.<\/p>\n That list includes treatments for cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, various cancers and more.<\/p>\n Staying on the PBS, the maximum general co-payment will be reduced to $25.<\/p>\n To further “protect eligible older Australians”, the budget will provide $449.3 million to list the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Arexvy on the National Immunisation Program, making it free for patients over 75, among others.<\/p>\n The government will also permanently subsidise COVID-19 oral antiviral medicines.<\/p>\n Negative gearing and CGT changes<\/p>\n While the housing measures aren’t targeted at any particular age, it could be that those who have had longer to build wealth are more likely to own investment properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under Labor’s proposed changes, negative gearing will be limited to new builds only to incentivise more housing supply.<\/p>\n This means landlords will no longer be able make the most of the investment strategy on any existing properties that are purchased from today.<\/p>\n Negative gearing is a strategy that lets landlords reduce their own income tax by deducting financial losses from renting out a property.<\/p>\n Any investment property owned before the release of this budget will be exempt from the changes, meaning anyone who currently negatively gears their investment property can continue to do so.<\/p>\n The capital gains tax (CGT) rules will be changed from July 1, 2027.<\/p>\n From that date, the 50 per cent CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships will be replaced with a cost base indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax rate.<\/p>\n The cost base indexation will mean “only real capital gains are subject to tax”, according to the budget documents.<\/p>\n The government says the reform to negative gearing and CGT is to “help level the playing field for first home buyers and support more Australians to realise the dream of home ownership”.<\/p>\n Aged care improvements<\/p>\n Labor plans to invest $3.7 billion in aged care within this budget to ensure older people “get the support they deserve”.<\/p>\n Of that total, $1.7 billion will go to the construction of more aged care beds.<\/p>\n The funds will be used to incentivise construction of 5,000 aged care beds a year. So they aren’t built and ready to go yet.<\/p>\n A total of $606.5 million will go to new capital subsidies for aged care providers that choose to build or expand their residential accommodation.<\/p>\n There will also be a restructure to the Accommodation Supplement to the amount of $1.1 billion of future spending.<\/p>\n This will introduce an additional payment for homes with more than 60 per cent low-means residents.<\/p>\n Other aged care improvements include a $565.1 million injection to “improve sector quality, safety and viability” and a $389.8 million drop “to accelerate the release” of Support at Home packages.<\/p>\n Alongside those cash injections, the Labor government says it is committing $1 billion to fully subsidise personal care services for things such as showering, through the Support at Home program.<\/p>\n ‘The right thing to do’What do you think of the federal budget?<\/a><\/p>\n We want to know what issues matter to you in the federal budget. Have your say.<\/p>\n