Tax cuts are on the way for more businesses but families may feel the pinch from benefit cuts and electricity price hikes under changes introduced for the new financial year.
Small and medium sized businesses have their tax rate cut to 27.5 per cent on July 1 and get another year to claim instant deductions for equipment purchases worth up to $20,000 each.
Middle income earners are expected to be $315 better off thanks to a rise in the threshold for when the 37 per cent marginal tax rate cuts in.
And Australia's lowest paid workers will receive an extra $15.80 a week after the Fair Work Commission lifted the minimum wage by 2.4 per cent.
But couples with children aged over 13 will no longer be able to claim Family Tax Benefit B payments from the federal government.
Higher electricity prices are on the cards for many households, with hikes of about 10 per cent expected in NSW and 3.43 per cent in Tasmania.
Sick people needing an ambulance in NSW will also be slugged with a $364 call out fee, plus an extra $3.29 per kilometre.
Controversial lockout laws will be enforced in Queensland, with reduced hours for liquor service and restrictions on the serving of shots, spirits and pre-mixed drinks after midnight.
In South Australia, smokers will be banned from lighting up in alfresco dining venues at all pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants and fast-food outlets.
More than 2800 injured South Australian workers also face increased medical expenses with changes to the workers' compensation scheme to cut their benefits.
But hundreds of thousands of disabled people, their families and carers across most of the country will begin to receive more support with the start of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Workers in the Northern Territory can also claim compensation for 12 additional work-related diseases, including hepatitis C and melanoma, without having to prove they were directly caused by their job.
Those catastrophically injured in accidents in Western Australia will be entitled to treatment, care and support for the rest of their lives under new motor vehicle insurance cover.
And in Victoria, hoverboards that fail new safety standards will be banned while police have new powers to ban convicted criminals associating with each other, even online.
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