We’re just days away from the start of a new financial year, which means a raft of changes are about to take effect – from wage and super increases to cost-of-living relief measures.

You can also expect more than economic changes, with a variety of new federal and state-specific laws coming into force on 1 July.

Today, the TDA team will walk you through the big changes coming this Tuesday and explain how they might impact you.

TDA’s finance and economics journo, Max here. In terms of the big finance headlines this 1 July, there are some changes to super, wages, and a few tax rules to get across.

Superannuation increase: From Tuesday, employer super contributions will rise from 11.5% to 12%. This means more money going into your super fund, but no change to your take-home pay. The only exception is if your contract specifies a salary inclusive of super, but that’s relatively uncommon.

Minimum wage increase: On 1 July, the minimum wage will increase 3.5% to $24.95 an hour. That’s about $30 more each week for workers. For businesses, that’s $1500 extra per year, per employee. While relatively few people are covered by the minimum wage in Australia, it is used as a baseline to determine “award” wages — industry-specific pay and conditions for sectors like hospitality and administration. Roughly three million workers covered by awards will see the minimum pay increase flow through to their payslips as well.

Changes to tax deductions: For small businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million per year, the instant asset write-off limit drops from $20,000 to $1000. You can no longer deduct the total cost of the asset immediately. You’ll need to depreciate the asset over time, deducting a portion of its value each year, based on its useful life. (@Sam and @Zara make sure you buy me that gold-plated TDA standing desk before sundown 30 June.)

Also from from 1 July, you won’t be able to claim an income tax deduction for ATO interest charges. This means that if you have an outstanding debt with the ATO, and they are charging you interest on this debt, you can no longer deduct this interest from your taxable income. The change is aimed at encouraging the timely payment of debts.

Payroll changes: Victoria’s payroll tax-free threshold is increasing to $1 million (up from $900k), meaning more small businesses will be exempt from payroll taxes. In the NT, the threshold jumps to $2.5 million, up from $1.5 million, and apprentice/trainee wages are excluded from the calculation.

Lots of information to digest there, but if you want more explainers to unpack the big stories in economics and finance, sign up to our weekly finance newsletter here. It comes out every Wednesday. Au revoir FY2024-25 and Bonjour FY2025-26!

Over to Harry.

Heya! In case you missed it, Australia had a federal election in May. There were many promises made in the run-up to polling day, aimed at helping people with the cost of living.

Many of these “hip pocket relief” measures come into effect from 1 July. Here’s a rundown:

The Federal Government has extended the energy discount until the end of the year. This was due to expire on Tuesday. It will mean your next two household energy bills will be automatically discounted by $75 each. Around a million small businesses will also be eligible for the rebate.

The paid parental leave entitlement is increasing to 24 weeks, up from the current limit of 22 weeks. The payment is based on the minimum wage. Paid parental leave, which has been incrementally increasing over the past few years, will go up to 26 weeks next year. Superannuation will also start being paid on top of parental leave, but parents won’t see these payments until July 2026, when they’ll receive a lump sum for the previous year from the tax office.

Nursing, midwifery, teaching, and social work students will be paid for their mandatory practical placements. Students will be eligible for $331.65 a week to address “placement poverty” concerns. Some placements can take months to complete, with teachers required to spend around 600 hours (16 weeks) in a classroom, and trainee nurses needing to do about 800 hours (20 weeks) in a hospital or clinic.

In South Australia, the cost of a 28-day metro pass will be reduced to $10, down from $28.60. The public transport discount means school commutes in Adelaide will cost around 50 cents a day.

Passing the baton to Lucy!

Several laws are coming into effect on Tuesday, both at the federal and state levels. The reason for this is a quirk of our legal system. There can be several months between the date a bill is signed into law and when it actually comes into force. This is done to allow for any adjustments from the industries or groups it affects.

Here are some of the biggest changes happening around the country this Tuesday:

The ACT is raising the age of criminal responsibility: The territory will become the country’s first jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 14, with exceptions for 12 and 13-year-olds accused of particularly violent crimes. This is the age at which a child can be charged with, or prosecuted for, an alleged crime.

Across most of Australia, this age is 10. The NT was the first region to increase it to 12 in 2022, but the newly elected Country Liberal Party reverted it to 10 last August. Victoria has also increased the age to 12, but scrapped plans to then increase it to 14.

Tobacco licensing: In NSW and Victoria, a new mandatory licensing scheme for people who want to sell tobacco will begin. People running tobacconist businesses and wholesalers have to apply for a licence to continue selling.

NSW has a grace period for applications to be filed until 1 October, during which tobacconists can continue sales while they wait for their licence to be granted or rejected. In Victoria, sellers must have a licence by 1 February 2026. The penalties for selling tobacco without a licence are heavy in both states, beginning with a minimum fine of at least $11,000 for an individual first-time breach.

Road rules: Also in Victoria, drivers will now need to limit their speed to 40km/h when passing roadside workers, or stationary or slow-moving vehicles. The rule has been put in place to protect emergency response and roadside assistance workers.

Election donations: Down in Tasmania, new rules for election donations are coming into effect just in time for the snap election on 19 July. From the beginning of the month, any donations to a political candidate or party must be made to a specific bank account, which can only be used for that purpose. Campaign spending can only come from that account, too, meaning, for example, that every Labor candidate up for election is drawing on the one account. Any donations have to be declared within seven days, too. Sounds like a lot of admin!

Last but not least, a few changes coming into effect on Tuesday will impact renters and homeowners in parts of the country.

Changes for renters:

Changes for homeowners:

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