Can someone explain this budget to me??

[beckoes]

Im not really sure how the changes to this budget will affect us?? i dont really understand what it all means. in relation to family tax payments etc. we are still rellying quite heavily on centerlink payments and im thinking i might need to re-do our budget!? anyone who knows stuff could you explain??? tia

[StrawberryFields]

I don't know very much about it, but from what I gather, they haven't cut payments per say, they've just frozen them. So they wont be adjusting them in line with raises in pay or increases in cost of living and interest rates things like that. What that means is say you're only just qualifying for a payment now, if you get a pay raise, you may bump yourself out of qualifying for that payment anymore. If your income doesn't change, then nothing should change but that also includes the amount you get. So if you're used to payment increases over time or whatever, factor into your budget that that will not be happening this year.

I think if you're on jobseeker you might have to show more evidence of looking for work too, but I don't know.

All I really know is that I was already terribly off, and now I might as well go jump off a cliff.

[Floweryfields]

Didn't watch the budget, as a single person, I learned pretty early on that we never qualify for anything in any budget, I know families struggle, but singles have bills too.

[beckoes]

All I really know is that I was already terribly off, and now I might as well go jump off a cliff.

think il be joining you!!

ausgirl: that sucks!!

[StrawberryFields]

Yeah, I've come to learn that the budget never will help anyone who needs or deserves it (with the exception of mental health this year). The only people who benefit from the budget regularly are businesses - usually the big ones who don't need any help. Its just wrong

I hope my parents' generation are happy with the legacy they're leaving...

[beckoes]

it says its to ''come down hard on dole bludgers'' what about people who are legit?? we have to suffer too! sucks. oh well. suck it up i guess.....

[StrawberryFields]

Exactly! I've been looking for work for over 12months - at 5 months pregnant with twins, I'm STILL looking even though I know my chances are even slimmer now. I worked my ass off all through high school, I even worked illegally when I was a kid picking fruit! I've worked my butt of for this country and so have 7 generations of my family before me, and I had to give up my job to do a uni placement - which was unpaid - and then found there was no place for me as promised once that was over. At one point I had 4 jobs at the same time! I have a bachelors degree with honours, and 5+ years experience in hospitality and retail, but nobody wants me. I challenge Mr Swann to find me a job without changing anything on my resume. If discrimination wasn't so rife I would've had a job ages ago, but due to my age, and gender and marital status, nobody wants to touch me with a 10ft pole.

And the other thing is - I'm not getting anything from Centrelink already! DH makes $3 too much a fortnight GROSS and pays tax at 49% to the $ so we see about $1K/fn of what he gets paid. I'm not even eligible for a case manager to help me find a job.

All its done is made it even more impossible for us to qualify for any help

[Trillian]

The main thing to remember is that the budget has to be passed first - so there may be a few changes if the opposition doesn't agree to it.

Check out these links for more info
The Budget: What it means for you | Federal Budget 2011 - Government Budget | News.com.au
That's a bit rich! Well off pay for Budget with families losing $1.2bn in family tax payments | Federal Budget 2011 - Government Budget | News.com.au

All I know is that as full fee paying Uni student I only get a 10% discount now instead of 20% and that our FTB will be affected. I think reducing the amount of discount you get on Uni fees is beyond stupid because it has nearly removed any incentive to pay for your tuition instead of doing it on HECS. I will keep paying upfront, but I wont be happy about having to pay more. It is penalising people who have the propensity to pay and not be a drain on the Govt purse when they should be looking at ways to get more people paying instead of the Govt picking up the tab.

Even though I don't support the idea of middleclass welfare and think it's bad when your budget relies on the extra you get in benefits (for those that earn a middle income) families earning a decent wage are still hanging on by the skin of their teeth and the smallest rate rise will bankrupt them so more needs to be done to address why is this happening kwim?

[StrawberryFields]

I really wonder what they were thinking with cutting discounts to full fee paying students - I think it had something to do with international students using education to get into the country? But surely they can just reduce the discount for non-citizens? You're right Trillian, it makes no sense and its penalising people who try to avoid being a strain on the government - in a way they're looking gift horses in the mouth...

They do need to look into why it is that people are still relying on Government payments even with what one would class as a decent wage. Clearly the definition of 'decent wage' also needs to be reviewed!

Maybe the way welfare is approved even - you have to give the bank a list of every tiny thing everything costs you to get a loan, perhaps we should have to provide a breakdown of our monthly expenses to prove to Centrelink why we qualify? I also think its a bit rich to judge eligibility on gross pay - people don't see that amount in their account!

Fingers crossed the Greens and Independants knock it back is all I can say...

[AnyDream]

I don't think the HELP thing makes sense either...I think they will find fewer people opt to pay up front/voluntary payments especially those on lower incomes who can just skate along for decades without paying for any of it at all. These are the people they should be encouraging to make those payments.

Trill I think you raise a really good point - why are families around the $150K still "hanging on by their teeth"??? Is it because of real spending pressures, or have we just adopted different lifestyle "norms" and expect more right across the board, when paying for all of that is what creates the pressure?

[Astrid]

Trill I think you raise a really good point - why are families around the $150K still "hanging on by their teeth"??? Is it because of real spending pressures, or have we just adopted different lifestyle "norms" and expect more right across the board, when paying for all of that is what creates the pressure?

That is such a tough one, as it all depends as to what start in life you had (did you live at home board free to save a deposit), did you buy your house before the price rises, where do you live, where do you need to live in order to work, do you or a family member have health issues or a disability etc Yes there is a certain amount of different lifestyle norms, but it is very hard to say that every family earning $150k is well off. I know if it was us, yes we would be quite comfortable, others, well not at all.

[beckoes]

i would consider us to be a low income family, for the moment anyway, doing all we can to change that, and to be honest, without the help from centerlink and welfare god knows where we would be now, out on our arses im sure!!! i am really greatful for the help the government has been able to give us and i feel very lucky to be in a country that has helped us, as a family, to stay safe and healthy! which is all thats important at the end of the day.
i can see how people find it easy to take advantage of this generosity but i would hate to think that if we had gone through what the last 12 months has thrown at us next yeat that we wouldnt have had the same level of help.

Trillian:

i already looked at those pages and couldnt work it out, hence this thread! i guess il just wait for it to go through and ring centerlink to find out what it has changed for us.

but it is very hard to say that every family earning $150k is well off. I know if it was us, yes we would be quite comfortable, others, well not at all.

wow...if we earnt that much id feel like we'd won lotto!

[Astrid]

Do you know how much tax is paid at that level? Quite a bit, plus losing things like FTB and childcare rebates etc. We are no where near that, but we are at the point where earning money means losing out in another area. We earn too much for a healthcare card, but not enough to get ahead. I would love it if we earned that much as a couple, but I would not classify as "rich".

[AnyDream]

Astrid, that's why i posed the question, and believe me I've wondered the same thing based on our current income - well under the $100K mark but pretty much double what it was when I was SAHMing with DD1 and we were just scraping by (I ask my self how we can be earning double and still have to penny-pinch). I also agree 100% with your comments about what start you had in life. Now approaching age 40, it's starting to become really apparent that the seeds of wealth (for those of my peers who now have it) really started 20 or more years ago. Having a good foundation at the beginning of your adult life really sets you up in a way I don't think I've really understood until now.

[Aimee89]

What people earn has no bearing on how well off they are.
A couple earning 150k could have that much debt that they are struggling, where another couple on 50k could have zero debt and living quite happily on their 50k disposable income. I know some one in the latter situation, but she still gets Centrelink payments etc because technically she is classed as a low-middle income earner, but owns everything even her house. How is that fair?

[nothing2lose]

At $150k you get no govt benefits at all. You pay mega tax and Medicare and, if you are separated there's a good chance you won't get any child support. You might even be in the sucky position of having to pay the non-residential parent child support! You also need to pay for childcare (full fees). We are not struggling but we rent, don't go on holidays and
Dp drives a 15 year old car. Mine isn't much better. Our "luxury" is ivf.

[Astrid]

Astrid, that's why i posed the question, and believe me I've wondered the same thing based on our current income - well under the $100K mark but pretty much double what it was when I was SAHMing with DD1 and we were just scraping by (I ask my self how we can be earning double and still have to penny-pinch). I also agree 100% with your comments about what start you had in life. Now approaching age 40, it's starting to become really apparent that the seeds of wealth (for those of my peers who now have it) really started 20 or more years ago. Having a good foundation at the beginning of your adult life really sets you up in a way I don't think I've really understood until now.

Same here, we are in a "poor" position compared to where we "should" be due to minimal family support in our younger years and low paying jobs (also add to that some silly financial decisions). We should technically own our home outright now, but we don't. IF we had, our middle to low financial position would be more comfortable than what it is now.

I suppose all the government can do is work on averages of wages etc to work out where to cut-off support.

[AnyDream]

What people earn has no bearing on how well off they are.
A couple earning 150k could have that much debt that they are struggling, where another couple on 50k could have zero debt and living quite happily on their 50k disposable income. I know some one in the latter situation, but she still gets Centrelink payments etc because technically she is classed as a low-middle income earner, but owns everything even her house. How is that fair?

I agree and disagree too. At $150K, there are choices you can make about how much debt you're prepared to burden yourself with. Even though the higher earning couple have a lot of debt, that's a choice they have made in order to build their wealth over the longer term (by owning the thing they're paying the debt on). Some of that debt may also relate to other lifestyle choices (what car they're driving, how they use their credit cards or not) etc. Lots of small choices adding up to the big picture. Equally some of those things are outside of our control - urban housing prices, for example. Even so, there are still choices, for example whether you are prepared to compromise on location for affordability.

This all goes back to my original point about how much of our expenses are real expenses and how much of it is because we have different expectations than we have in decades gone past. An example, we don't buy steak or lamb except if it's on outrageous special, because I consider it's too expensive for our budget. The next person might be earning a bit more, but think it's perfectly normal to eat those cuts of meat every night, and spending $100 more on groceries every week as a result, and feeling like they too are penny-pinching. That's a $5K different in spending per year, just based on our different expectation of what's "normal".