FRSA’s Preliminary Analysis – Federal Budget 2022-23

One of the challenges in reviewing the Federal Government’s Budget is that it feels a bit all over the place.

Numerous Australians will receive a cash injection in the next few weeks and months – the first in April and the latter after 30 June aimed at addressing the cost-of-living pressures being experienced. OK – but what happens after that?

Seems a lot of Infrastructure projects have been greenlighted and promised tax cuts will go ahead as planned.

In this Budget, there have been vital funds injected through a multitude of streams in the Women’s Budget Statement (however, not all new money) funding a range of important measures aimed at addressing issues of family, domestic and sexual violence in this country. Within our scope, I believe Specialised Family Violence Services that are due to expire 30 June this year will be extended, but details are light at present. In the area of Family Law, the newly established Federal Circuit and Family Court has successfully secured additional funding to bed down some of the new procedures and processes they have been implementing since 1 July last year – with some flow on funding for the Legal Aid Commissions along the way.

We have also seen an increase in funding for mental health services, suicide prevention services and health services more generally.

What is missing is the vision, a very clear picture of how all of this hangs together. How does a family struggling to pay the bills and also dealing with family violence, mental health, housing accessibility and broader health issues really move beyond the here and now to find themselves in a much better place? Notably, sustainable measures to address what has become a real crisis in Australia, underpinning or amplifying other problems – the lack of affordable, secure housing – are sorely lacking.

The Budget is by design a forward looking document – money is committed for many years into the forward estimates and with that it is also fair to say that it does create an expectation that there is scope for longer term visions to be articulated. A Budget should create an opportunity to express a narrative that goes beyond the promise to drive down the deficit, important though that might be.

As you read this briefing, I do remind you that it is not intended to repeat what you are already reading in the newspapers or hearing on the news. At FRSA, we aim to provide a briefing that draws from key Budget papers and Portfolio Budget Statements to bring you up to speed with those issues that have the most impact and/or relevance to the Family and Relationship Services sector.

Please find below a summary of key initiatives to our sector under the headings:

Attorney-General’s
Cross Portfolio
Health
Social Services
Treasury
Other social services budget announcements that impact families

Attorney-General’s

Family Law system (see under Cross-portfolio below for family violence related family law measures):

$16.5 million over 2 years from 2021‑22 to support legal aid commissions to meet the cost of legal representation, including independent children lawyers as ordered by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia as part of the Government’s enhanced case management arrangements for family law proceedings.

Cross-Portfolio

Women’s Safety
The Government will provide $1.3 billion over 6 years from 2021‑22 towards initiatives to reduce all forms of family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) against women and children, and to establish, enhance and expand initiatives that address the full life cycle of violence across prevention, early intervention, response and recovery. These measures will form the first phase of the Commonwealth’s contribution to the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022‑2032.

Funding of $222.6 million over 6 years from 2021‑22 will be provided to strengthening initiatives to prevent gendered violence. Funding includes:

$104.4 million from 2022‑23 to continue and expand the role of the national prevention organisation Our Watch, to improve its reach in diverse communities including the LGBTIQA+ community, the disability community and those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
$46.0 million from 2022‑23 to extend the Stop it at the Start campaign, which seeks to shift community attitudes about violence among young people
$40.1 million from 2021‑22 for further initiatives aimed at the prevention of FDSV, including the continuation of existing community‑led prevention activities, updating respectful relationships, education, resources to align with the new curriculum, and funding for the Australian Human Rights Commission to undertake a survey of secondary school‑age students on attitudes towards consent
$32.2 million from 2022‑23 for the Commonwealth’s Consent campaign, to provide young people aged 12 years and older and their parents with materials, information and resources.

Funding of $328.2 million over 5 years from 2022‑23 will be provided to extend and establish programs aimed at the early intervention and prevention of FDSV. Funding includes:

$127.8 million from 2022‑23 for trauma‑informed national counselling services to support victim‑survivors, and extending support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Support Services for families who are experiencing, witnessing or at risk of family or domestic violence, including a focus on supporting children impacted by family and domestic violence. This includes behaviour change services for individuals who have or are at risk of perpetrating gendered violence
$54.4 million from 2022‑23 for workforce development initiatives to ensure responses to FDSV are appropriate for all people and trauma‑informed, including boosting funding to Lifeline to deliver nationally‑accredited training for non‑specialist frontline services and increasing funding for accredited sexual violence response training to health professionals
$47.9 million from 2022‑23 for an early intervention campaign aimed at boys and young men
$41.6 million from 2022‑23 for further initiatives to support early intervention, including a pilot program of trauma‑informed services for mothers and children aged 6‑12, additional funding for a second phase of the National Online Safety Awareness Campaign and the extension of perpetrator focused counselling and referral services
$30.0 million from 2022‑23 to build and maintain links between the National Framework for protecting Australia’s Children and the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Their Children. These initiatives will support the implementation of both strategies to prevent and protect children from violence, abuse and neglect, including improved supports for those providing care, with a focus on supporting at risk Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people
$26.6 million from 2022‑23 to support the eSafety Commissioner to address online abuse including establishing a team of experts to support victim‑survivors of tech‑facilitated abuse and expanding the Online Safety Community Grants program for community groups, sporting groups and faith communities.

Funding of $480.1 million over 6 years from 2021‑22 will be provided to fund programs to support women and their children who are experiencing FDSV. Funding includes:

$240.0 million from 2023‑24 to extend funding for the Escaping Violence Payment which provides financial support of up to $5,000 to women forced to leave a violent relationship
$100.0 million from 2022‑23 to extend the Safe Places program which provides emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing FDSV
$85.4 million from 2021‑22 for further initiatives to assist women and their children from diverse communities who are experiencing FDSV, extending funding for the Support for Trafficked People Program, and providing grant funding to the Northern Territory Working Women’s Centre and Working Women Queensland to support women experiencing workplace sexual harassment
$54.6 million from 2022‑23 to continue the Keeping Women Safe in their Homes and Safe Phones programs, which provide support to enable up to 30,000 women and their children to remain in their home of choice following instances of FDSV.

Funding of $290.9 million over 5 years from 2022‑23 will be provided to extend and expand programs that support the recovery of FDSV victim survivors. Funding includes:

$150.5 million from 2022‑23 for further initiatives to support the recovery of FDSV victim survivors, including to pilot a new model of care, to be delivered via Primary Health Networks, to improve access to trauma informed recovery services for FDSV victim survivors, funding to help people to navigate the health system, to enhance the support provided through existing Primary Health Network pilot sites and a further national expansion, and to provide funding to trial specialised and trauma informed legal services to victim survivors
$87.9 million from 2022‑23 to provide a national expansion of the Lighthouse Project, which triages FDSV matters before the family court Note: Family Law System
$52.4 million from 2022‑23 to meet expected demand for support under the Family Violence and Cross Examination of Parties Scheme. Note: Family Law System

This measure builds on the 2021‑22 Budget measure titled Women’s Safety.

Further information on Women’s Safety, Women’s Economic Security and Women’s Health and Wellbeing measures can be found in the Women’s Budget Statement 2022-23.

Health

Ageing and Aged Care
The Government will provide $468.3 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to further implement the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, to improve transparency and regulatory standards and continue ongoing reforms announced in the 2021-22 Budget.

Partial funding for this measure has already been provided for by the Government.

COVID-19 Response Package – ageing and aged care
The Government will provide an additional $458.1 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to support older Australians in the aged care sector with managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding includes:

$215.3 million over 2 years from 2021-22 to provide bonuses of up to $800 to aged care workers in residential aged care and home care
$124.9 million in 2022-23 to extend and expand funding for the Aged Care Preparedness program that supports aged care providers to manage and prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 and prepare providers to transition to living with COVID-19
$50.4 million over 4 years from 2022-23 to improve the capability and capacity of the residential aged care workforce to deliver vaccination services to residents and staff
$37.6 million for 2 years from 2022-23 to establish grants for Infection Prevention and Control training for qualified nurses in residential aged care facilities
$22.1 million in 2022-23 to extend in-reach screening for COVID-19 in residential aged care facilities using Polymerase Chain Reaction technology for a further 3 months to 30 September 2022
$7.9 million in 2022-23 to extend and expand the commissioned home visits initiative for COVID-19 positive patients in residential aged care facilities for a further 3 months to 30 September 2022.

Mental Health
The Government will provide $547.0 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to provide mental health Stage 2 reforms through the 5 pillars of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan – Prevention and Early Intervention, Suicide Prevention, Treatment, Supporting Vulnerable Australians and Workforce and Governance. Funding includes:

$76.4 million over 5 years from 2021-22 for prevention and early intervention activities. Funding includes:

$52.3 million over 4 years from 2022-23 for Lifeline to provide mental health supports
$9.7 million over 3 years from 2022-23 for nationally consistent mechanisms to better manage mental health and wellbeing concerns in schools, including a national measure of student wellbeing, national guidelines for the accreditation of mental health and wellbeing programs and trauma informed professional development support for teachers
$3.9 million over 3 years from 2022-23 for innovative, evidence based mental health and suicide prevention research activities
$3.3 million over 2 years from 2021-22 to fund the delivery of best-practice early intervention and prevention mentoring programs for ‘at risk’ Year 8 students at public secondary schools
$1.8 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to continue a mental health literacy app to assist Australian parents and carers to identify the signs of social or emotional problems in children
$1.6 million over 4 years from 2022-23 to continue funding for youth mental health services on the Mornington Peninsula.

$46.7 million over 2 years from 2022-23 for suicide prevention activities. Funding includes:

$42.7 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to extend targeted regional initiatives to prevent suicide across Australia through more coordinated, but locally specific, efforts at the regional level
$4.0 million over 2 years from 2022-23 for suicide prevention research.

$285.5 million over 5 years from 2021-22 for mental health treatment initiatives. Funding includes:

$206.5 million over 3 years from 2022-23 to ensure continued access to services for young Australians with severe mental illness
$24.3 million over 4 years from 2022-23 to implement a pilot program to identify innovative and evidence-based models of care to best address the needs of people with eating disorders and to continue funding current eating disorder services for 2022-23
$15.1 million over 4 years from 2022-23 to introduce a case conferencing item on the Medicare Benefits Schedule to support eligible patients to access coordinated, multidisciplinary mental health care
$14.8 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to continue a range of headspace programs including flying headspace, the Digital Work and Study Service, and schools suicide prevention activities
$13.6 million over 2 years from 2021-22 to continue funding for the Victorian head-to-help clinics until February 2023 and extend NSW pop-up clinics until December 2022
$11.3 million in 2022-23 to continue to provide COVID-19 support through digital mental health services.

$44.9 million over 4 years from 2021-22 to support vulnerable Australians. Funding includes:

$17.8 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to provide mental health support to multicultural communities across Australia, including further funding for the Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma and to provide access to translating and interpreting services for people accessing mental health services
$8.6 million over 3 years from 2022-23 to establish the National Closing the Gap Policy Partnership on Social and Emotional Wellbeing to advise on policy and implementation of actions to address social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention closing the gap targets
$8.5 million over 3 years from 2022-23 to extend culturally appropriate programs in 16 communities across the Northern Territory through the Red Dust program, focused on social and emotional wellbeing, sexual health, relationships, alcohol and other drugs, and Foetal Spectrum Disorder
$8.3 million in 2021-22 to establish a National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Centre, to be the national hub of clinical and technical expertise in treatment for trauma-related mental health conditions
$0.9 million in 2021-22 to extend Medicare Benefits Schedule items for Australians impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires
$0.8 million over 2 years from 2021-22 to provide mental health supports to the Devonport community in Tasmania following the tragedy at Hillcrest Primary School.

$93.2 million over 5 years from 2021-22 for workforce and governance issues. Funding includes:

$64.7 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to implement the first stages of the 10-year mental health workforce strategy, including:
- $28.6 million over 3 years from 2023-24 to increase the size of the psychiatry workforce through training posts, funding for supervisors, specific rural and remote initiatives and recruitment
- $18.3 million over 3 years from 2022-23 for a national mental health ‘pathways to practice’ program for nursing, allied health and psychology students
- $6.2 million over 3 years from 2021-22 to support the mental health of health workers
- $4.7 million over 3 years from 2022-23 to provide general practitioners with access to psychiatrist support for treating their patients
- $1.3 million over 2 years from 2023-24 to build the capacity of mental health workers to respond to people with both substance use and mental health conditions
- – $0.4 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to deliver a stigma reduction program for secondary and tertiary students to encourage students to choose a career in mental health.
$4.2 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to support employment of general practitioners in headspace centres in rural and remote regions
$3.5 million over 4 years from 2022-23 for the Australian Public Service (APS) Commission to continue the operation of the APS Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Unit to implement and maintain a mental health framework for APS employees.

Partial funding for this measure has already been provided for by the Government. The remaining cost of this measure will be partially met from within the existing resources of the Australian Public Service Commission, Department of Education Skills and Employment and Department of Health, and partially offset by the Department of Defence.

This measure builds on the 2021-22 Budget measures titled Mental Health and Primary Care.

Social Services

Cost of living payment
The Government will provide $1.5 billion in 2021‑22 to provide a $250 economic support payment to help eligible recipients with higher cost of living pressures. The payment will be made in April 2022 to eligible recipients of the following payments and to concession card holders:

Age Pension
Disability Support Pension
Parenting Payment
Carer Payment
Carer Allowance (if not in receipt of a primary income support payment)
Jobseeker Payment
Youth Allowance
Austudy and Abstudy Living Allowance
Double Orphan Pension
Special Benefit
Farm Household Allowance
Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holders
Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders
eligible Veterans’ Affairs payment recipients and Veteran Gold card holders.

The payments are exempt from taxation and will not count as income support for the purposes of any income support payment. A person can only receive one economic support payment, even if they are eligible under 2 or more of the categories outlined above. The payment will only be available to Australian residents.

Supporting Communities across Australia
The Australian Government is committing up to $2.6 million over two years from 2022‑23 for work on establishing an innovative National Centre for Place-Based Collaboration (National Centre). The National Centre will support existing and emerging initiatives designed to help communities across Australia address their specific needs and create lasting change. The funding will enable a Foundation Partner to collaborate with government, experts, service providers, investors and communities to inform a fully operational National Centre focused on best practice approaches for community-led change.

Building the Long‑Term Viability of the Financial Counselling Sector
The Government will provide $10.5 million over 4 years from 2021‑22 to develop a voluntary industry funding model which will help meet the shortfall in general financial counselling services, including $1.5 million in seed funding to establish a new not‑for‑profit body to implement the scheme. The measure will also fund a range of initiatives to support the financial counselling sector, including improving data capture in the financial counselling sector to better understand drivers and demand for financial services, supporting a virtual placement model for financial counselling students, and expanding the online chat and booking functionality of the National Debt Helpline.

This measure forms part of the Government’s response to the findings of the Countervailing Power: Review of the coordination and funding for the financial counselling services across Australia (the Sylvan Review).

Partial funding for this measure has already been provided for by the Government.

Support for people with disability
The Government will provide $7.3 million over 2 years from 2022‑23 to further support people with disability and their families. Funding includes:

$6.1 million over 2 years from 2022‑23 for a full-scale national advertising program to promote the Field (formerly known as WorkAble) to assist job seekers with disability to find, and engage with employment opportunities
$1.2 million in 2022‑23 to support Amaze Incorporated and Autism Awareness Australia in expanding the existing ‘Autism: What Next?’ website to provide resources to help individuals and families navigate the first year following an autism diagnosis.

Treasury

Affordable Housing and Home Ownership
The Government will increase the number of guarantees under the Home Guarantee Scheme to 50,000 per year for 3 years from 2022-23 and then 35,000 a year ongoing to support homebuyers to purchase a home with a lower deposit. The guarantees will be allocated to provide:

35,000 guarantees per year ongoing for the First Home Guarantee (formerly the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme)
5,000 places per year to 30 June 2025 for the Family Home Guarantee
10,000 places per year to 30 June 2025 for a new Regional Home Guarantee that will support eligible citizens and permanent residents who have not owned a home for 5 years to purchase a new home in a regional location with a minimum 5 per cent deposit.

This will come at a cost of $8.6 million over 4 years from 2022-23 and $138.7 million over 7 years from 2026-27, with $20.5 million per year ongoing from 2033-34.

Other budget announcements impacting on children, families and

Women’s Economic Security Package
The Government will provide $346.1 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to improve economic security for women by enhancing the Paid Parental Leave scheme by rolling Dad and Partner Pay into Parental Leave Pay to create a single scheme of up to 20 weeks, fully flexible and shareable for eligible working parents as they see fit. The Paid Parental Leave can be taken any time within 2 years of the birth or adoption of their child. The income test will also be broadened to have an additional household income eligibility test.

Boosting Participation and Building Australia’s Workforce
The Government will provide $153.5 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to address workforce shortages, support job seekers to find employment, and make it easier for vulnerable Australians to participate in the workforce. Funding includes:

$52.8 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to deliver the new ReBoot initiative and support Workforce Australia to support up to 5,000 disadvantaged young Australians to develop employability skills, providing a pathway to employment services and training opportunities
$49.5 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to provide an additional 15,000 low and fee-free training places in aged care courses under the JobTrainer Fund
$44.6 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to continue support for businesses who employ mature-aged Disability Employment Services program participants through the Restart Wage Subsidy
$3.2 million in 2022-23 to extend the Time to Work Employment Services program for 12 months to provide continued in-person pre-employment services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners
$1.9 million over 5 years from 2021-22 to extend the pension suspension period and Pensioner Concession Card access period to 2 years for pensioners that receive a nil payment due to their partner’s employment income or working hours, where this has also resulted in the suspension of their partner’s pension for up to 2 years
$1.5 million in 2022-23 to extend the trial of career coaching for job seekers of all ages participating in Digital Services under Workforce Australia. The trial will provide career coaching to digitally serviced job seekers, to help them secure employment
expanding eligibility for the Local Recovery Fund to include job seekers self-managing through Digital Services under Workforce Australia from 1 July 2022.

The cost of this measure will be partially met from within the existing resources of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, the Department of Social Services and Services Australia.

Flood Package
The Government will provide support for the recovery from the February / March 2022 floods in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Funding includes:

the provision of a special supplement of 2 additional payments of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) to residents in catastrophically impacted areas, with an estimated cost of $245.0 million for current disaster declarations
$150.0 million in 2021‑22 from the Emergency Response Fund to be shared between NSW and Queensland to fund recovery and post‑disaster resilience measures in areas that experienced significant damage to, or destruction of, their infrastructure
$150.0 million in 2022‑23 from the Emergency Response Fund to fund recovery and post‑disaster resilience measures in the Northern Rivers region of NSW
$31.2 million over 2 years from 2021‑22 to meet the increased demand and support for the mental health of residents in flood affected areas through the recovery process
$25.0 million to provide additional funding for Financial Wellbeing and Capability activities including emergency relief, food relief and financial counselling for communities affected by the floods in NSW and Queensland
$22.1 million over 2 years from 2021‑22 to increase the Community Child Care Fund
Special Circumstances grant to assist services experiencing financial viability issues resulting from the recent floods and the COVID‑19 pandemic
$10.0 million over 4 years from 2022‑23 to support the mental health of school‑aged children in the Northern Rivers region affected by the recent flood event through the Resilient Kids program
$4.7 million over 2 years from 2021‑22 to support primary health care services for flood impacted regions

Further measures supporting businesses and farmers and improving flood monitoring, including joint measures with the Queensland and NSW governments can be found here.

COVID-19 Measures
A range of COVID measures across the different portfolio areas are included in the Budget. This includes:

$10.4 million in 2021‑22 to expand the Emerging Priorities Program for projects that assist school communities to respond to emerging priorities in school education, including recovery from COVID‑19 (Education)
The COVID-19 Response Package – ageing and aged care – outlined above
The COVID-19 Response Package – guaranteeing Medicare and access to medicines:
- The Government will provide $892.1 million over 2 years from 2021‑22 to continue the health response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, to support access to health care services and reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID‑19.
The COVID-19 Response Package – personal protective equipment and rapid antigen tests:
- The Government will provide $2.6 billion over 2 years from 2021 22 for the procurement and distribution of rapid antigen tests (RATs) and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The COVID-19 Response Package – supporting hospitals and emergency response extension:
- The Government will provide $1.1 billion over 2 years from 2022 23 to support the Government’s emergency response to COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Response Package —vaccines and treatments:
- The Government will provide $1.0 billion over 2 years from 2021 22 for the continued distribution and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines across Australia.
$11.3 million in 2022-23 to continue to provide COVID-19 support through digital mental health services.

For the full range of COVID related measures, including business support, arts sector support and support for the travel industry, see Budget Paper No. 2.