New measures strengthen economy in 2020

This year the Morrison Government is focussed on delivering for all Australians with our plan for an even stronger economy by building resilience and rewarding aspiration while delivering the essential services they rely on.

From 1 January 2020, a number of new measures come into effect across government including:

  • The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme help eligible first home buyers to purchase a modest home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent, allowing them to get into the market earlier. The Scheme provides up to 10,000 guarantees to eligible first home buyers each financial year and applications can be made as part of the standard home loan application process through participating lenders.
  • Australians will be able to access more affordable medicines with four new medicines to be added on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from today. These includes Verzenio® (Abemaciclib) for patients with advanced breast cancer and APO-Primidone® (Primidone) for patients with epilepsy. This continues to build on the 2,200 new or amended medicines the Government has listed on the PBS since 2013.
  • Unscrupulous employers will no longer be able to short-change employees who make salary sacrificed superannuation contributions. From today, employers will no longer be able to use salary sacrificed contributions to satisfy their superannuation guarantee obligations.
  • Federal government agencies will start paying e-Invoices within five days or pay interest on any late payments. The five-day e-Invoicing payment policy will apply to contracts valued up to $1 million, where a supplier and a Commonwealth agency both use the internationally established framework for delivering and receiving invoices in an electronic form.
  • Students will now have a single HELP loan limit that combines FEE-HELP, VET Student Loans, VET FEE-HELP and new HECS-HELP incurred on or after 1 January 2020. The HELP loan limit will increase to $106,319 for most students and to $152,700 for students studying medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and eligible aviation courses. Additionally, a new web portal called myHELPbalance will launch on 1 January 2020 to make it easier for students to track their loan and repayment history.

These important new measures which come into effect from today build on what the Morrison Government has delivered since the election including the largest tax cuts in more than two decades, vital support to farmers and communities affected by natural disasters and more funding for aged care.

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