“Underwhelming” and “disappointing.”

That’s how some of the TDA audience described this week’s Federal Budget, which was handed down on Tuesday night.

There’s been plenty of Budget analysis in the headlines this week, but it can be hard to cut through the noise of the economics and political jargon. That’s why TDA journalists Emma Gillespie, Daniel Lo Surdo, and I all gave up our phones for six hours (!!!) to go into the budget lockup and comb through hundreds of pages of documents.

Once we made sense of the big announcements, we asked you, the TDA audience, what you thought.

Consider today’s newsletter your Budget vibe check – the official verdict on your feelings about the budget.

The Federal Budget is the Government’s key economic document. It details two things: where the government will allocate its money (spending), and how it will pay for it (revenue).

Treasurer Jim Chalmers – the Minister responsible for heading up the Budget – outlined five key priorities in the 2024/25 Budget: cost of living relief, building homes, developing renewables, health and aged care, and tackling inequality.

How will the Government fund these priorities? In short, from you, myself, and the other people and businesses that pay tax in Australia.Where did this all come from?

The “cost of living” phrase got a solid workout in this budget. The Government’s big cost of living headline is that every Australian household will receive $300 off their energy bills.

More than half of our survey respondents said they were in favour of the measure (55%), while 29% weren’t.

One responder summed up the main criticism of the energy bill announcement, saying: “I support this, but I don't believe it should be going to high income earners.”here did this all come from?

There were two main announcements for people on income support: increased rent assistance and expanded eligibility for higher rates of JobSeeker.

The rent assistance payment will go up by 10%. The current maximum help for a single renter is $188 a fortnight, which will go up to about $207.

Anyone working between 0-14 hours a week will also be able to get a higher rate of JobSeeker, which is around $763 per fortnight.

There was no further increase to the JobSeeker payment and it’s expected to rise again in September.

In the lead up to the Budget, the Government announced an overhaul of HECS indexation, including plans to wipe $3 billion in HECS debt.

HECS debts increase annually to reflect inflation. This is called ‘indexation’. Under the new system, the rate of indexation will be determined by whichever is lower between the consumer price index (inflation) or the wage price index (the figure measuring rising wages). The changes still need to pass through Parliament.

The lower HECS increase calculation will be backdated to last year, when students were hit with a 7.1% bump in their debts overnight. That means you’ll have some of your HECS reduced or, as TDA confirmed with the Education Minister’s office, a cash payment if you’ve paid off your loan since June 2023.

Many of TDA’s audience were happy with the HECS changes: 74% said they agreed with it, while 12% disagreed, and 14% were unsure.

Teaching, nursing, midwifery, or social work students will be eligible for “prac payments” starting in July 2025 (as long as it passes through parliament).

Eligible students will get roughly $320 a week during their placement, and it won’t affect any other income payments.

Overwhelmingly, TDA readers supported this announcement (86%).

Those of you who didn’t agree with the announcement were split in your reasons.

28% said they didn’t think students should be paid for placements. 34% said they disagreed with the measure because $320 a week wasn’t enough.

Overall, were young people satisfied with the Government’s 2024-25 Budget?

More than half (53%) of TDA’s audience said no.

Fewer than a third (32%) said they were satisfied with the Budget, while the remaining voters (16%) said they didn’t know enough about it.

Those who supported the Budget called it things like a “step in the right direction”, and “investment in the right areas”.

One response called it “Scott Morrison 2.0”.

We asked you which broad areas the Government should have spent more money. The top answers were (noting you could select two options):

We also asked you what kind of things you wanted to see the Government invest more in. Here are some of the responses we received:

There you have it, your Budget verdict for the year. With an election coming up, next year’s conversation could look very different. Until then, we’ll keep you updated!

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