University students, Airbnb holiday home owners and even those who drink juice through a plastic straw are set to be affected by January 1 changes.
More than a million Australians are getting a Centrelink boost from today – from university students to carers and those with a disability.
A new 7.5 per cent tax on Airbnb homes also comes into effect in Victoria on New Year’s Day, which will also cover cleaning costs.
And in New South Wales, plastic straws and spoons are being banned, while bosses across Australia who deliberately underpay staff face jail and millions of dollars in fines.
Here’s what you need to know about the new changes coming into effect on the first day of 2025.
Centrelink
Australia’s youngest Centrelink recipients are getting a 3.8 per cent increase to their payments on January 1, with the indexation significantly higher than the latest 2.8 per cent consumer price index.
This covers the Youth Allowance, Austudy, Youth Disability Support Pension and Carer Allowance.
The Youth Allowance for teenagers under 18 living at home is going up by $15 to $410.30 a fortnight – in line with the Abstudy rate for those of the same age who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
University students, Airbnb holiday home owners and even those who drink juice through a plastic straw are set to be affected by January 1 changes (pictured are University of New South Wales students)
Those living away from home and who are studying, aged 18 to 24, will see their Youth Allowance or Austudy payment climb by $24.30 to $663.30.
Partnered Youth Allowance beneficiaries without dependent children are also getting a $24.30 boost, that increases to $670.30 a fortnight with the energy supplement.
Austudy recipients, aged 25 or older, are getting the same increase to the same level, regardless of whether or not they have children.
The Youth Allowance covers those aged 16 to 21 and looking for full-time work, those aged 18 to 24 studying full-time and those aged 16 to 24 doing an apprenticeship.
The Disability Support Pension for those under 18 living at home is rising by $20.80 to $569.60.
Those aged 18 to 20 are getting a $23.10 boost, taking it to $631.80.
Australians with a disability living independently will see their payments rise by $30.10 a fortnight to $822.60.
The Carer Allowance is increasing by $5.80 a fortnight to $159.30, benefitting more than 600,000 people looking after a loved one. The increase is in line with the Youth Disability Supplement.
Victoria’s new 7.5 per cent tax on short-term accommodation, including Airbnb, comes into effect on January 1 in a bid to raise $60million (pictured is a young couple at the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road)
The 3.8 per cent boost to a series of Centrelink benefits is a lot more generous than recent inflation figures – the September quarter’s annual headline inflation rate was 2.8 per cent based on the government’s temporary $300 electricity rebates, while the underlying inflation rate was higher at 3.5 per cent without one-off factors.
Welfare payments are linked to the June quarter’s annual consumer price index instead of the latest inflation data.
Airbnb tax
Victoria’s new 7.5 per cent tax on short-term accommodation, including Airbnb, comes into effect on January 1 in a bid to raise $60million.
The state government tax applies for property investors who accept bookings that are less than 28 days.
The flat 7.5 per cent levy covers total booking fees paid, including cleaning costs and GST but not credit card fees.
This tax has to be paid either by a booking platform like Airbnb or by the property owner who provided the short-term accommodation directly, which means the costs are passed on to holidaymakers.
The charge is coming into effect during the summer holidays, when coastal areas from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula to the Great Ocean Road are packed with tourists.
Labor is targeting investors with the short stay levy not affect those who provide temporary accommodation in their principal place of residence.
Plastic straws in separate plastic packaging are now banned in New South Wales
Revenue raised from the levy will fund Homes Victoria, a government agency that helps the homeless.
Labor is also promising to invest 25 per cent of funds in regional parts of the state, with Premier Jacinta Allan representing a Bendigo electorate.
Former treasurer Tim Pallas announced the bill in August but he resigned from his post in mid-December, after a decade in the role, only weeks after the Short Stay Levy Bill passed through both houses of Parliament.
Plastic straws, spoons
Polystyrene cups, plastic spoons and straws are banned in New South Wales from January 1 if they were produced as part of a ‘machine-automated process’.
That means polystyrene cups containing dry noodles with sachets of flavouring or soup powder will be illegal if they have been machine sealed.
So will plastic spoons within a plastic tub that’s also been sealed on a production line, along with plastic straws attached to the outside of a juice box, commonly known as poppers.
No extension to the ban is being allowed, with the hard deadline part of the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 (the Act).
This means shops and non-profit groups won’t be allowed to supply these items to their customers, even if they still have unsold stock, with the state’s Environment Protection Authority encouraging alternatives like paper straws and bamboo spoons.
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase to minimum pay in the aged care sector, including those previously covered by the nurses award and those on the social, community, home care and disability services award (pictured is a Bunbury bartender in Western Australia)
The ban on plastic utensils is coming into effect more than two years after single-use plastic bags were banned on November 1, 2022.
Wage underpayment penalties
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase to minimum pay in the aged care sector, including those previously covered by the nurses award and those on the social, community, home care and disability services award.
Under changes to the Fair Work Act, individuals face a minimum fine of $1.565milloin and up to 10 years’ in jail while companies face a minimum penalty of $7.825million.
Small businesses, defined as having less than 15 people, are exempt from these laws and therefore criminal prosecution, as a Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code is established.
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase to minimum pay in the aged care sector, including those previously covered by the nurses award and those on the social, community, home care and disability services award.
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