SA State Budget 2024-25: All you need to know in 5 minutes

The 2024-25 state budget has been handed down this afternoon – and contained some surprises. Here’s a top-level explainer of the key announcements.

Cost of living was front and centre in Thursday’s SA State Budget, with households set to pocket hundreds of dollars as state debt expands by billions.

Government debt will blow out by more than 50 per cent over the next four years as the cost of the state’s major infrastructure builds makes its impact felt.

This will add another $16.3bn to South Australia’s debt burden but Treasurer Stephen Mullighan is now projecting surpluses into 2028.

There will be a record $2.5bn extra of extra funding for the health system to address issues of ambulance ramping and overcrowding, bringing additional investment in health to $7.1bn over Labor’s three budgets. That includes $1.6bn over five years to meet the higher costs of service delivery across SA Health, including to perform surgeries

Here’s what we know now:

Cost of living relief - $266.2m

– Immediate new one-off $243.90 additional payment for households to be paid to households within weeks.

– Payment doubles from $127.80 to $255.60 for tenants and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders from next financial year.

– Sports vouchers program doubles to $200 per child per year.

– $200 reduction in schools materials and services charge for 2025 with program now extended to music participation.

– $20 in small business energy grants

– $18m for NGOs

An $843.6m housing package

– Stamp duty will be abolished and first home owners grant eligibility will be expanded for all first home buyers who build or buy new homes in South Australia.

– First Home Owner Grant property value cap removed.

– Value thresholds for stamp duty relief removed.

– 2,383 new homes via a $576m for Seaton, Noarlunga development comprising 1941 homes.

– An extra 442 social houses

– New concessions for those living in share houses

– Better access to Emergency Electricity Payment Scheme for 1300 houses

– $30 million towards regional housing

– Access to concessions for 500 asylum seekers

Nearly 2000 new homes will be built in developments at Seaton and Noarlunga under a $576m state government investment to boost housing supply –including hundreds of social and affordable homes

Hundreds of millions into education and school upgrades

Families of about 120,000 children at public schools will save $200 per student on school fees next year, after the government doubled the discount on the materials and services charge.

More than 100,000 children will also be eligible for two $100 vouchers towards sporting activities and, for the first time, music lessons. That is up from one voucher in previous years.

– $218m will be invested to build a new preschool and primary school in Mount Barker, and a new high school in the northern suburbs of Adelaide

– A further $38.1m will be invested into upgrades for Surrey Downs Primary School, Bellevue Heights Primary School, Mount Gambier High School, Le Fevre High School and Mouth Barker High School.

Pre-school for three-year-olds in $1.9b early childhood spend

- $339.7 million over five years to implement universal three-year-old preschool and other key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care including;

– $127.3m over four years for 3-4 year old children at risk of developmental vulnerability.

– $96.6m to grow early childhood workforce

– $30.6m over four years to support four and three-year-olds at pre-school

– $14m for Aboriginal children to receive pre-school support.

– Help for families to access services and for carers to return to the workforce.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Treasurer Stephen Mulligan leaving Parliament House before revealing South Australia’s 2024-25 state budget.. Picture: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

$2.3 billion on skills and training

More than 160,000 South Australians will be able to gain qualifications in fields including defence, clean energy and early childhood education, as part of a record $693m boost for the state’s training sector.

The Budget allocates another $56.2m to improve course completion rates, $62.6m for an audit and investigations blitz to ensure compliance and safety and $53.1m to update courses to better suit industry needs and invest in equipment and infrastructure.

– Skills funding increases 43 per cent to $692.6 million over the next five years.

– $275.6m to lift training places to over 160,000 for key industries via TAFE SA, not-for-profits and NGO training providers.

– $62.6m to ensure training quality

– $56.2m to increase training completion rates

– 53.1m to increase the VET workforce

– $18.3m for Closing the Gap initiatives

– $13.3m for workforce planning for defence industry needs

$2.5 billion for SA health system

The state government has already announced $576 million to redevelop SA Housing Trust land at Seaton, which is forecast to deliver 1315 homes and 626 dwellings on vacant land Noarlunga Downs.

It has abolished stamp duty payments for first home buyers who buy or build a new home, which had been set at a home worth $650,000. All first home buyers will also be eligible for a $15,000 first home owners grant.

– $1.6m to meet higher service delivery costs

– $742.3m for extra hospital activity

– $11.5m over four years for Port Pirie Hospital upgrade and training investment.

– SA Ambulance Service will get another $58m for three new ambulance stations, an electronic patient care record system and to expand a hospital avoidance team.

– $64m for to address ramping with 20 new Lyell McEwin Hospital beds and 36 new QEH beds.

– $5m more for youth mental health

– $24m over three years for new ambulance stations at Marion, Two Wells and Whyalla

– $23.5 for SA Ambulance patient care record system

– $15.2m to fight tuberculosis outbreaks

– $10.7m for 16 new SA Ambulance Service Paramedic Telehealth Clinicians.

Emily Linton, and her four kids at the Springlake playground, welcomed news of a new school for Mount Barker. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Millions for SA Police and road safety

More than 100 extra SA Police officers and staff will be freed up as part of an almost $40m law and order spend.

– $19m over three years to develop and implement SAPOL’s “digital police station”.

– $8.5m to fast-track telephone resolution desk.

– $9.3m over four years for 24 internal civilian roles

– $80.1m for road safety, including reducing the speed limit on arterial roads near schools to 40km/h at priority locations during school drop-off and pick-up times.

– $38.7m for new speed, red light and point-to-point cameras

– $35m over three years for road maintenance as part of a $346.1m road package in partnership with Federal Government.

- More than $200m will be poured into South Australia’s stretched prison system to build more than 350 extra beds.

Police patrols on Rundle Mall. Picture: Keryn Stevens

$47m for the arts in SA

– $20.7m over five years to establish an arts investment fund to drive targeted investment in the arts, culture and creative industries

– $19m over three years for new accommodation for the State Theatre Company, State Opera and Country Arts South Australia

– $7.2m over three years to continue the partnership between the South Australian Film Corporation and the ABC for the production of screen content in SA

– $720,000 to construct four permanent structured pavilions in Mount Gambier for the annual festival Generations in Jazz

Environment

– Almost $14 million will be spent by the state government over the next three years to safeguard seven species of bird at a lake near the seaside town of Robe in the state’s south east. The funding is part of the Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin program, a $70 million program run by the Commonwealth government to manage the long-term sustainability of the lower reaches of the River Murray.

Millions to crack down on vape, tobacco sales

More than $16m over the next four years to stifle the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products in South Australia.

$5m for Hutt St Centre’s Aspire homelessness program

The Hutt St Centre will receive $5m to extend the intake for the Aspire homelessness program for a further three years.

Government fees, charges rise for 2024-25

Across the board, government fees and charges will rise by about three per cent next financial year.

Emergency Services levy to rise for 2024-25

Emergency Services Levy to rise by $6.55 to $157.85 for a median-value residential property next financial year. If the household is eligible for concessions, their bill will rise by $2.40 to $62.40.

Originally published as SA State Budget 2024-25: All you need to know in 5 minutes