Federal Budget 2019: More winners than losers

Clarke McEwan Accountants



Tax cuts, incentives for business investment and spending on health and welfare: tonight's Federal Budget was crafted with Australia's May election in mind. Read on for CPA Australia's verdict on Budget 2019.

A stronger economy and a secure future were the promise of Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in announcing a A$7.1 billion surplus, tax cuts and extra funding for infrastructure and services to regional Australia in the 2019/20 budget.

Frydenberg stressed several times that expenditure would be achieved without increasing taxes, while announcing lower taxes for 10 million people and three million small businesses.

The Treasurer delivered the first budget surplus in 12 years and announced investments in education that he said would invest in the jobs of tomorrow.

With a Federal election looming in May, pollsters are tipping that the government will be unseated by Bill Shorten's Australian Labor Party, in which case many budget announcements will not be implemented.

Labor has said, however, that it will support one-off cash payments and tax cuts for low and middle-income earners but, if elected, will deliver its own major economic statement in the second half of the year.

CPA Australia head of external affairs Paul Drum FCPA said the budget made a strong election pitch but "their biggest test is whether they can get re-elected in the coming months to enable them to deliver on these budget commitments."

The budget assumes real growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.75 per cent in the 2019/20 and 2020/21, unemployment at 5 per cent over the same period and the consumer price index (inflation) at 2.25 per cent in 2019/20.

CPA Australia head of external affairs Paul Drum FCPA said the budget made a strong election pitch but "their biggest test is whether they can get re-elected in the coming months to enable them to deliver on these budget commitments."

The budget assumes real growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.75 per cent in the 2019/20 and 2020/21, unemployment at 5 per cent over the same period and the consumer price index (inflation) at 2.25 per cent in 2019/20.

WINNERS

Wage and salary earners

The Treasurer announced A$158 billion in personal income tax cuts through more than doubling the low and middle-income tax offset from 2018/19. This will benefit more than 10 million people earning up to A$126,000 a year.

From July 2024, Frydenberg says the government will cut the 32.5 per cent marginal tax rate to 30 per cent, applying to all taxpayers earning between A$45,000 and A$200,000. He says the top 5 per cent of taxpayers will pay one third of all income tax collected.

Business

The instant asset write-off will be extended to June 2020 and increased from A$25,000 to A$30,000. The write-off allows small business with a turnover of less than A$10 million to claim an immediate deduction for a purchase below that amount but will be expanded to businesses with turnover of up to A$50 million, or another 22,000 businesses.

Businesses will also be able to claim the deduction every time they make a purchase under the cap.

The write-off remains an annual deduction. CPA Australia has called for the write-off to be made permanent rather than extended budget to budget, to give business owners greater certainty when planning.

The government will defer to July 2020 the start date of the proposed amendment to Division 7A of the Tax Act, to allow further consultation.

CPA Australia has argued the Treasury-proposed changes to how business owners can make loans from private companies will discourage investment.

Building and transport industries
The government announced increased investment in infrastructure spending, to improve rail links and address road black spots, with the Treasurer naming several projects in major state capital cities and also rural and regional Australia.

The budget includes increasing the Urban Congestion Fund to A$4 billion from A $1 billion, to cut travel times in Australia's rapidly-growing cities.

A A$500 million Commuter Car Park Fund would improve access to public transport hubs.

Education

A A$525 million skills package would create 80,000 new apprenticeships in industries with skills shortages and double to A$8,000 the incentive payments to employers per apprenticeship
placement.

There were also announcements to create new training hubs, give new apprentices a A$2,000 incentive payment, and invest in science, technology and research.

Rural areas
The budget papers commit to major spending in regional and rural areas to expand water infrastructure, provide drought relief and upgrade regional airports.

Older Australians

Frydenberg announced A$725 million for aged care, with 10,000 new home care packages and capital works focused on regional Australia. Single pensioners will get a A$75 one-off cash payment for their energy bills, while couple pensioners will get A$125. The ALP is expected to support the measure.

Health sector

Australians suffering from cancer, heart disease, epilepsy and who live in rural areas are likely to benefit from several major investments in assistance programs and medication. The budget also contains A$461 million for youth mental health and suicide prevention.

Superannuation industry and older Australians

People approaching retirement will be able to boost their superannuation balances, with those aged 65 and 66 years able to make voluntary contributions without satisfying the work test, from July 1 2020. Currently, people aged 65 and older must work a minimum 40 hours over a 30-day period. Frydenberg said the measure will align the work test with the eligibility age for the Age Pension, due to rise to 67 years from July 1, 2023. About 55,000 people will benefit from the reform.

People aged 65 and 66 will also be able to access the "bring forward arrangements" to make three years' worth of non-concessional contributions (capped at A$100,000) to their super in a single year. This currently stops at 65 years. The age limit for spouse contributions will be increased from 69 years to 74 years.

CPA Australia's Paul Drum said that a fairer and more flexible solution would be to introduce lifetime caps and "revisit" abolishing the work test.

LOSERS

Business

There were few measures for corporate Australia, although many of the largest companies would benefit from spending in infrastructure, either as providers or users of improved services.

Regulatory burden on business

Business will pay more fees to regulators, through the industry funding model for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and higher levies to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). As part of a response to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, there will be extra funding to ASIC of A$38.5 million in 2019/20 and A$118 million in 2020/21, possibly funded by extra fees to business. APRA will get A$16.9 million and A$19 million over the same period.

The budget allocates the Australian Taxation Office an extra A$1 billion over four years to expand its Tax Avoidance Taskforce. Frydenberg announced the Australian Financial Complaints Authority will receive additional funding to establish a historical redress scheme for financial complaints dating back to 1 January 2008.

CPA Australia welcomed additional funding for APRA, ASIC and the Federal Court given the findings of the royal commission.

"But unfortunately, the significant cost increases that the ASIC user pays funding model places on our members and others delivering services regulated by ASIC have not been addressed in this budget," said Paul Drum. "This government-imposed cost pressure will not only negatively impact smaller accounting practices and others providing financial services, but also consumers in the future."

CPA Australia previously recommended the government not pursue its full cost recovery model for funding ASIC's regulatory activities, and that it reinstate funding previously cut from the ASIC budget. "The government can expect to hear more from us on this," Drum added.

Savers

The government has not introduced measures that would encourage Australians to save outside the superannuation regime.

Sport Integrity

The Government will establish a new body, Sport Integrity Australia, to carry out anti-doping and integrity functions, and a National Sports Tribunal to hear and resolve rule violations. The Government has also signed up to the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions.

Could your business survive without you?

By Clarke McEwan • September 17, 2025
Would your business still thrive, or would it suffer a catastrophic failure if you suddenly stepped away? It’s tough to remove yourself from the day-to-day operations when you’re passionate and busy. However sudden accidents, illnesses, or family emergencies can – and will – happen and you need to be able to step back knowing your systems are robust enough to cope. Build in resilience For your business to work for you, you need to make yourself replaceable. Large corporations have plans in place to mitigate what’s known as ‘Key Person Risk’. But when you run a small entrepreneurial venture, who is the backup?  The more you can train and empower your team to perform the business’s essential daily functions without micromanagement, the closer you'll be able to enjoy a lifestyle business. Establish repeatable and scalable support infrastructure to run the daily operations and create a great team that you can lean on. Your staff need a common purpose – knowing why what they’re doing matters – as well as clear expectations around their roles. By creating a suitable work environment, where employees both individually and as a team are more efficient and likely to enjoy what they do, you’ll breathe easier knowing they have your back (and your business) in an emergency. Finally, it’s important to know what the business looks like without you. An exit strategy is often thought of as the way to end a business — which it can be — but in best practice, it’s a plan that moves a business toward long-term goals and allows a smooth transition to a new phase. That may involve re-imagining business direction or leadership, keeping financially sustainable, or pivoting for challenges. A fully formed exit strategy takes all business stakeholders, finances and operations into account and details all actions necessary to sell or close. Strong plans recognise the true value of a business and provide a foundation for future goals and new directions. Top Tips: 1. No one is irreplaceable – Challenge yourself to step away for a week. Which systems fall over? Which procedures get left hanging? Which duties get ignored? Go cold turkey as a test case for the time you may have to leave your business in the hands of others. 2. Embrace innovation – Get systems that are simple, streamlined, effective and can be used by multiple key team members. Make sure anyone can log in and see exactly what’s needed for what reason at any time. 3.Recognise the value you’re creating - A business that doesn’t rely on its owner is worth a lot more when the time comes to sell or pass the reins to someone else. Talk to our team about structuring your business to make it more reliable.

Keeping your tax and expenses in check when you are self-employed

By Clarke McEwan • September 16, 2025
Working for yourself or running your own business? Setup robust systems for expenses & tax requirements so you can focus on your important tasks. We can help take the headaches out of your business accounting. #freelancelife #taxtalk #smallbusinesstips #contractors #medicalcontractor #businesscontractors #ABN

A win for those carrying student debt

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
20% reduction in student debt The reduction is expected to benefit more than 3 million Australians and remove over $16 billion in outstanding debt. The 20% reduction will be automatically applied to anyone with the following student loans: · HELP loans (eg, HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, STARTUP-HELP, SA-HELP, OS-HELP) · VET Student loans · Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans · Student Start-up Loans · Student Financial Supplement Scheme. The reduction will be based on the loan balance at 1 June 2025, before indexation was applied. Indexation will only apply to the reduced balance. The ATO will apply the reduction automatically on a retrospective basis and will adjust the indexation that is applied. No action is needed from those with a student loan balance and the Government has indicated that you will be notified once the reduction has been applied. If you had a HELP debt showing on your ATO account on 1 April 2025 but you paid the debt off after 1 June 2025 then the reduction will normally trigger a credit to your HELP account. If you don’t have any other outstanding tax or other debts to the Commonwealth, then the credit should be refunded to you. The HELP debt estimator is a useful tool to get an idea of the reduction amount, please reach out if you need any help in working out eligibility. Changes to repayments The Government has also modified the way that HELP and student loan repayments operate, primarily by increasing the amount that individuals can earn before they need to make repayments. The minimum repayment threshold for the 2025-26 year is being increased from $56,156 to $67,000. The threshold was $54,435 for the 2024-25 year. Under the new repayment system an individual will only need to make a compulsory repayment for the 2025-26 year if their income is above $67,000. The repayments will be calculated only against the portion of income that is above $67,000. Repayments will still be made through the tax system and will typically be determined when tax returns are lodged with the ATO. For many people the change in the rules will mean they have more disposable income in the short term, but it will take longer to pay off student loans. The main exception to this will be when an individual chooses to make voluntary repayments.

Creating a more dynamic and resilient economy

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
The Productivity Commission (PC) has been tasked by the Australian Government to conduct an inquiry into creating a more dynamic and resilient economy. The PC was asked to identify priority reforms and develop actionable recommendations. The PC has now released its interim report which presents some draft recommendations that are focused on two key areas: · Corporate tax reform to spur business investment · Where efficiencies could be made in the regulatory space (ie, cutting down on red tape) The interim report makes some interesting observations and key features of the draft recommendations are summarised below. Corporate tax reform The PC notes that business investment has fallen notably over the past decade and that the corporate tax system has a significant part to play in addressing this. The PC is basically suggesting that the existing corporate tax system needs to be updated to move towards a more efficient mix of taxes. The first stage of this process would involve two linked components: · Lower tax rate: businesses earning under $1 billion could have their tax rate reduced to 20%, with larger businesses still subject to a 30% rate. · New cashflow tax: a net cashflow tax of 5% should be applied to company profits. Under this system, companies would be able to fully deduct capital expenditure in the year it is incurred, encouraging investment and helping to produce a more dynamic and resilient economy. However, the new tax is expected to create an increased tax burden for companies earning over $1 billion. Cutting down on red tape The interim report notes that businesses have reported spending more time on regulatory compliance – this probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most business owners who have been forced to deal with multiple layers of government regulation. Some real world examples include windfarm approvals taking up to nine years in NSW while starting a café in Brisbane could involve up to 31 separate regulatory steps. The proposed fixes include: · The Australian Government adopting a whole-of-government statement committing to new principles and processes to drive regulation that supports economic dynamism. · Regulation should be scrutinised to ensure that its impact on growth and dynamism is more fully considered. · Public servants should be subject to enhanced expectations, making them accountable for delivering growth, competition and innovation. These are simply draft recommendations contained in an interim report so we are a long way from any of these recommendations being implemented. However, the interim report provides some insight into areas where the Government might look to make some changes to boost productivity in Australia. The PC is inviting feedback up until 15 September on the interim report before finalising its recommendations later this year.

Non-compete clauses: the next stage

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
Back in March this year the Government announced its intention to ban non-compete clauses for low and middle-income employees and consult on the use of non-compete clauses for those on higher incomes. The Government has indicated that the reforms in this area will take effect from 2027. This didn’t come as a complete surprise as the Competition Review had already published an issues paper on the topic and the PC had also issued a report indicating that limiting the use of unreasonable restraint of trade clauses would have a material impact on wages for workers. Treasury has since issued a consultation paper, seeking feedback in the following key areas: · How the proposed ban on non-compete clauses should be implemented; · Whether additional reforms are required to the use of post-employment restraints, including for high-income employees; · Whether changes are needed to clarify how restrictions on concurrent employment should apply to part-time or casual employees; and · Details necessary to implement the proposed ban on no-poach and wage-fixing agreements in the Competition and Consumer Act. Treasury makes it clear that the Government is not planning to change the way the rules apply to restraints of trade outside employment arrangements (eg, on sale of a business) or change the use of confidentiality clauses in employment. If the proposed reforms end up being implemented, then this could have a direct impact on a range of employers and their workers. Existing agreements will need to be reviewed and potentially updated. However, it is too early at the moment to guess how this will end up, we will keep you up to date as further information becomes available.

Superannuation guarantee: due dates and considerations for employees and employers

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
On 1 July 2025 the superannuation guarantee rate increased to 12% which is the final stage of a series of previously legislated increases. Employers currently need to make superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions for their employees by 28 days after the end of each quarter (28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July). There is an extra day’s allowance when these dates fall on a public holiday. To comply with these rules the contribution must be in the employee’s superannuation fund on or before this date, unless the employer is using the ATO small business superannuation clearing house (SBSCH). The ATO has been applying considerable compliance resources in this space in recent years which can have an impact on both employees and employers. Employers To be eligible to claim a tax deduction on SG contributions the quarterly amount must be in the employee’s super account on or before the above quarterly due dates. The only exception to this is where the employer is using the ATO SBSCH. In that case a contribution is considered made provided it has been received by the SBSCH on or before the due date. Employers using commercial clearing houses should be mindful of turnaround times. Commercial clearing houses collect and distribute employee contributions and may be linked to accounting / payroll software or provided by some superannuation platforms. Anecdotally it seems that turnaround times for some clearing houses could be up to 14 days, so it is recommended that employers allow sufficient time before the quarterly deadlines when processing their employee SG contributions. If these deadlines are missed (yes even by a day!) that will trigger a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) requirement which will result in a loss of the tax deduction and other penalties. The SGC requirements are outlined in the ATO link below: The super guarantee charge | Australian Taxation Office Employers do have the option to make SG payments more frequently than quarterly and this is something that employers will need to become used to if the proposed ‘payday’ superannuation reforms become law. This change is proposed to commence from 1 July 2026 and would require SG to be paid at the same frequency as salary or wages. There is some discussion on the payday super proposal at this link (noting that this is not yet law). The SBSCH will close at this time so employers using this service should start to consider transitioning to a commercial clearing house, please let us know you would like assistance with this. Employees It is recommended that you regularly check your superannuation fund statements and reconcile employer contributions to the amounts listed on your pay slips. Where SG contributions are not received on time (or at all!) employees are encouraged to discuss this first with their employer. Should this not result in a satisfactory conclusion, employees can consider bringing this to the attention of the ATO. There is some helpful discussion on this process at the following link .
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