SA budget 2021 five-minute guide: All the projects, spending and information for your area

There’s ballooning debt, a focus on health and masses of spending across the board. See what’s in the state budget for you in our five-minute guide.

Providing a way out of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the Treasurer Rob Lucas deliver his last State Budget with a focus on creating jobs, improving our health system and building better infrastructure.

But it’s also delivered an eye-watering debt bill. Check out our five minute-guide to find out what it means for you.

HEADLINE FIGURES

• $33.623bn debt across forward estimates
• Deficit $1.397bn for 2021-22, surplus of $48m for 2022-23, $498m for 2023-24 and $379m for 2024-25.
• GST windfall of $926m
• Stamp duty boost of $214m
• Employment forecast to grow at two per cent in 2021-22, 1.25 per cent in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25
• GST revenue forecast to grow by $474m in 2022-23 and $385m in 2023-24

TAXES

• A 12 month extension of payroll tax exemption for wages paid for eligible new trainees and apprentices — a combination of state and federal government subsidies means businesses can receive up to $32,000 in support
• A new 50 per cent land tax discount for eligible new build-to-rent housing projects which will reduce the land values for land tax purposes up to 2039-40
• A further $10.7m in land tax relief in 2021-22 through the land tax transition fund for those taxpayers negatively impacted by changes to land tax aggregation rules in 2021-22

Treasurer Rob Lucas leaves the SA Parliament building with the 2021 budget papers. Picture: Mike Burton

COST OF LIVING

• Fees and charges will rise 1.9 per cent across the board on July 1
• Some are higher, for example registration of a four-cylinder car will rise 2.2 per cent to $138
• The average residential customer’s water bill will rise 1.1 per cent to $661.88
• The government says the average Adelaide household with two children and two cars is about $940 a year better off when compared to 2018

INFRASTRUCTURE

• $17.9bn over the next four years
• $9.9bn for the North-South corridor (Torrens to Darlington) to allow for three lanes in the tunnels each way
• $8.8bn for roads and public transport projects over next four years
• $45m for the Hindmarsh Stadium upgrade
• $44m for stage two of the Memorial Drive redevelopment
• $79m to finalise planning and commence preparation works for a $662m Riverbank Arena.
• $49m over two years for a new South Australian Sports Institute
• A decision to can the Hove Level Crossing on Brighton Road after cost estimates became too high to proceed

An artist impression of River Torrens to Darlington upgrade. The tunnel will now be three lanes, not two. Picture: Supplied

JOBS

• A new $200m fund to support burgeoning industries, such as space, defence and health technology.
• A new ‘public sector workforce rejuvenation’ plan, offering incentives for employees to separate from the government, making way for new trainees and graduates.
• An additional $29.4m for the local film industry

HEALTH

• $7.4bn to be spent on health
• $1.9bn for the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, including $685m allocated in previous budgets
• $163.5m over the next four years on mental health, including support services, a new 16-bed crisis centre in the northern suburbs and the Adult Mental Health Care Centre to operate 24 hours a day
• $110m to increase emergency department capacity
• $20m to fast track elective surgery to reduce backlog linked to pandemic
• $45m for an extra 74 paramedics
• $1m for business case and $5m for land and early works on a new Barossa hospital

EDUCATION

• $84.4m for a 1200-place year 7-12 high school on the Norwood Morialta High School Rostrevor campus
• $42m over three years for capital works at government schools and preschools, including $15m for Seaview Downs Primary
• $11.8m for non-government schools sectors for capital works
• $50m over four years for a new early learning strategy, $35m of which is new funding
• $215.5m for TAFE SA over five years

The new school will be built on the old Norwood Morialta High Rostrevor campus.

POLICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

• $77.5m for SAPOL’s continued Covid-19 response at medi-hotels, border checkpoints and hiring of protective security officers
• $22m for upgrades at the Adelaide Women’s Prison and Yatala Labour Prison.
• $21.1m over three years for final stages of the Shield project – linking SAPOL data directly with other justice sector agencies to improve collaboration
• $100,000 for planning and design work for a joint CFS and SES facility at Willaston

LAW AND ORDER

• $8m over four years to the Office of the Public Advocate and SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal
• $339,000 to address increased workloads in the Youth Court
• $939,000 for an additional deputy coroner and associated staff for a 12-month period, to address backlogs

REGIONS

• $786m in new funding for regional roads over next four years – including Truro bypass, next stage of August Highway duplication and completion of Port Wakefield Overpass – but much co-funded by federal government
• $36m to refurbish the old Murray Bridge near Murray Bridge
• $40m road upgrades on Kangaroo Island
• $16m additional investment to eradicate fruit-fly
• $2m to a plant-based food incubator laboratory at Adelaide University’s Waite Campus

Premier Steven Marshall smiles with the 2021 budget papers. Picture: Mike Burton

ENVIRONMENT

• $22.9m over four years for a national partnership on recycling, including $7.9m for the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority to construct a paper and cardboard beneficiation plant
• $5.5m over four years to expand the greening neighbourhoods program to regional areas
• $14.7m in open space grants in 2021-22

WELFARE

• $42.1m extra over four years to cover the cost of more children coming into state care than expected
• $2.7m over four years to extend support to young people in state care to age 21, after they must leave their state-run home or carer household
• $1.3m over two years to divert 10 to 13-year-olds who are at risk of being detained in youth custody because they do not have appropriate housing or support