There aren't many winners out of Joe Hockey's first budget, but business is one of them.
Promised tax cuts and big spending on infrastructure will benefit the top end of town, while smaller businesses receive rewards for hiring older workers.
Companies will also receive financial assistance to access export markets, manufacturers moving into new growth industries will be eligible for grants, while the energy and resources sector will be encouraged to explore for new mineral deposits.
"Rather than corporate welfare, the government's focus will be on strengthening the overall business environment, so that enterprise, large and small, can create more jobs in Australia," Mr Hockey told parliament.
While high income earners are to be slugged with a new debt levy, the government is committed to cutting company tax by 1.5 percentage points from July 1 , helping about 800,000 businesses.
That's on top of the axing of the carbon tax and mining tax, a move long called for by miners, builders and airlines.
The tax cut will offset the burden of the government's paid parental leave scheme, also due in July 2015.
A new $11.6 billion outlay on infrastructure, set to take the total spend to $50 billion by 2020, will provide new work for the nation's largest building and engineering firms, such as Leighton and Lend Lease, as well as building products suppliers and potential project owners such as superannuation funds.
New rail projects, providing better access to ports, would also benefit large exporters, who currently encounter delays and costs because of infrastructure bottlenecks.
The government spending also answers recent calls from industry groups, who have argued the economy needs more activity in the non-housing construction sector as the mining investment boom continues to wind down.
To help address the costs of an ageing population, a wage subsidy is to be handed to employers who take on mature aged staff, which Mr Hockey said would break down discrimination against unemployed older Australians.
Businesses will be paid $10,000 over 24 months for each new full time worker aged above 50, and part-time workers will attract a smaller subsidy based on hours worked.
The plan is expected to bring 32,000 older job seekers back into the workforce.
Mr Hockey said corporate Australia had not been spared from budget pain, with $800 million in industry assistance to be withdrawn.
But that most notably impacts car manufacturers, who have already made plans to stop making cars in Australia.
"Businesses should stand or fall in their ability to produce the goods and services that people actually want," he said.
To help smaller manufacturers, the government has set up a $50 million grants program for businesses that transition to competitive industries.
Small resources companies will also be encouraged to establish new exploration projects, with their shareholders to be granted tax offsets as exploration credits.
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