From the 1st of January, the 10 per cent G-S-T on tampons and other sanitary pads is no more.
The newly G-S-T-free products include tampons, disposable and reusable menstrual pads, menstrual cups, panty liners and period or leak-proof underwear.
It comes after 18 years of lobbying from advocates who said it was unfair to tax sanitary products when items such as condoms and lubricants were exempt.
Announcing the move in October, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the changes were needed. “The removal of the GST on feminine hygiene products -- this is a long-overdue reform which will put more money into the hip pockets of Australian households."
Former Treasurer Joe Hockey proposed ending the tampon tax in 2015, but the move was rejected by then Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Meanwhile, there'll also be changes to the way some of Australia’s biggest credit card issuers hand out new cards.
Providers such as American Express, CommBank, Westpac and NAB have agreed to offer the ability to request a credit limit reduction or card cancellation online and to stop providing unsolicited credit limit increase offers.
They've also agreed to, before issuing a card, properly assess whether a new customer can afford to repay the credit limit within three years.
The measures are in response to Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) report.
ASIC Executive Michael Saadat says the changes will benefit consumers."Over one in six Australians is struggling with their credit card debts. Which means that they're either behind in repayments, they're making consistently low minimum repayments or they're completely using their full credit limit over an extended period of time. And for those consumers who are struggling with their credit card debts they are paying very high rates of interest over a long period."
Restrictions have also been lifted for young adults in rural and regional areas claiming Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY.
The income limit for both payments has increased from 150-thousand dollars to 160-thousand dollars, while ABSTUDY recipients living away from home will have more flexibility when it comes to travel and visits.
Youth Allowance provides financial assistance to young job seekers, students and apprentices, while ABSTUDY is a group of payments for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students and apprentices.
Despite multiple pushes for the Newstart payment to be lifted, it remains at 275 dollars per week.
National Union of Students president Mark Pace told SBS News earlier this year, rising costs for students are making higher education less accessible.
"A research report from UNSW (University of New South Wales) last year showed that a single student, the bare minimum they need to live is about $430 a week, whereas a single rate of Newstart currently is about $278. So there's a huge gap there between someone who's on income support and the poverty line. And what we need to do, we need to increase the rate of Newstart, increase the rate of other income support measures for university students so that they can complete their studies and they do have access to further opportunities with their qualifications."
Also from the 1st of January, the "No Jab, No Play" policy will be enforced in childcare centres and schools to try and stop contagious diseases from spreading.
Schools must collect immunisation records, and may be shut in the event of an outbreak of vaccine-preventable contagious illnesses.
It brings Western Australia’s laws into line with Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Professor of Global Biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, Raina MacIntyre, says a now-retracted study from 1998 on the link between autism and vaccines is partly to blame for vaccination reluctance.
"You need to go back to the whole debate about measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism which was started by Andrew Wakefield in the 1990s. That did have sustained impacts on vaccination rates, in the United Kingdom anyway, and probably elsewhere as well. But in other parts of Europe - particularly countries like Romania and Ukraine, Serbia - the vaccination rates have just been low."
From January, new parents living in New South Wales will get a 300 dollar taxpayer-funded baby bundle to help them settle into parenthood.
The kit -- which includes a thermometer, first aid kit, wipes, creams, a toothbrush and more -- will be sent via mail, free of charge.
Meanwhile, from the 1st of July, Australians will start to see the fruits of the coalition government’s much-touted personal income tax cut plan.
People will receive their offsets once they lodge their 2017-18 tax returns.
Those earning up to 37-thousand dollars per year will see their tax bills reduced by 200 dollars, while the maximum offset of 530 dollars is applied to those earning between 48-thousand dollars and 90-thousand dollars.
Then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was jubilant when the legislation passed parliament in June."We believe in you. We believe in your aspirations. We want you to realise your dreams. We want you to keep more of the money you've earned. It's not the government's. It's yours. This personal income-tax plan is for you."
A measure to combat “bracket creep” - or the process by which inflation pushes wages and salaries into higher tax brackets - will also begin on the 1st of July.
Meanwhile, from the middle of the year, international visitors on the second year of their Working Holiday Maker visa program will become eligible for an additional visa – if they undertake “regional plant and animal cultivation work” for six months.
The Department of Home Affairs defines “regional plant and animal cultivation work” as the harvesting or packing of crops, pruning and trimming vines and trees and processing animal products.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the changes will attract workers to regional Australia for longer.
"All of this is designed to support small, family, medium-sized businesses working in regional areas all around the country. You know, backpackers when they come, they don't go home with any money in their pocket. Everything they earn here, they spend here. All the money goes back into the regional towns, creating more and more jobs and a vibrant economy."
Meanwhile, the Morrison government‘s controversial move to make newly-arrived migrants wait longer to access various welfare payments is expected to pass parliament at some point in 2019.
Migrants granted a permanent skilled or family visa would have to wait four years for payments such as Newstart or concessions cards.
The wait for carer payments, parental leave pay, as well as dad and partner pay will be extended to two years, while a one-year wait will apply for a carer allowance and family tax benefit part A.
Labor treasury spokesman Chris Bowen says the party wanted to do the deal because it didn't want to give anti-immigration senators a chance to argue for their own amendments to the initial bill.
"Look we had a choice. We made it clear our strong concerns about the waiting measures, which was making newly-arrived migrants wait four years for a whole range of payments. We indicated we'd oppose that. We were also concerned that if we opposed it, it was then opening the doors for parties like One Nation and Fraser Anning to negotiate with the government on it. We took the view it was better to negotiate with the government ourselves to try and get an arrangement which we could live with."
Share
