Victoria State Budget 2017-18: Five-minute guide

HOW does the State Budget affect you? How much is going into roads, hospitals and schools? Check our five-minute guide for the main funding decisions.

• State Budget: Live coverage
• $2b plan to tackle family violence

Revenue

· $1.2 billion surplus in 2017/18

· Economy forecast to grow by 2.75 per cent

· Annual job growth at 3.2 per cent, the strongest in growth in Australia

· Victoria’s Gross State Product remains above Australian GDP

Fines and Fees

· Public sector wage bill to grow by almost $4 billion over four years

· Hike in car tax to reap the government $100 million a year

· First home buyers will pay no stamp duty for houses valued up to $600,000, saving up to $31,000

Family Violence

· $448.1 million to create 17 Support and Safety Hubs established across Victoria

· $270.8 million for after-hours support, counselling and therapy

· Expanded family services and funding to recruit 450 child protection workers

· $101.2 million towards a Central Information Point so agencies can better share information

· $269 million for Victoria’s legal system, including five new specialist Family Violence Courts

· $76 million to hold perpetrators to account, including rehabilitation programs

· $50.7 million prevention agency, including advertising campaigns and workplace programs

Regional Victoria

· Reducing payroll tax by 25 per cent for businesses operating in regional Victoria, the lowest rate in Australia

· Ballarat region to receive 600 new jobs under a $47.8 million plan for new government hubs

· $50 million to double the First Home Owner grant to $20,000 in regional areas

· $1.5 billion to upgrade every major commuter rail line in regional Victoria

Roads

· $700 million boost to M80 road upgrade which includes $350 million from the federal government

· $100 million for pre-planning for North-East Link

· $300 million to build the Mordialloc Bypass

· Added funding for maintenance work on the West Gate Bridge

· Road maintenance funds boosted to $260 million, double the previous investment

Public Transport

· $1.45 billion Regional Rail Revival package including $435 million to upgrade the Gippsland Line

· Ten new supersized E-Class trams and 39 new VLocity carriages

· Fast-tracked funding for level crossing removals

· Night Network to be fully funded for next four years

· $67 million to fund new bus services

· Continued funding of the Metro Rail project

Education

· $685 million to build and upgrade schools across the state, including 11 new school sites

· Upgrades to 59 regionals schools and 49 metropolitan schools

· $202.1 million invested in early childhood services

· $9.2 million for mandatory swimming lessons in primary schools

Health

· $173 million elective surgery blitz to cut 6,600 patients off waiting lists

· $162 million Northern Hospital redevelopment and money to begin planning for a new Footscray hospital

· Extend the Enhanced Maternal and Child Health services, providing extra support for parents

· Extra screening for 45 000 Victorians for breast, bowel and oral cancers

Emergency services

· $273.3 to reduce impact of bushfires on Victorian communities

· $26.5 million towards ambulance services to improve response times

· Funding boost for SES for new facilities and equipment

Tourism/Sport

· $332.8 million to improve sports facilities across the state

· Funding for upgrades to local sporting clubs and the development of new facilities

· Visit Victoria to secure extra funding to attract overseas tourists, students and business leaders

Law and Order

· $2 billion boost for Victoria Police, putting more than 2,700 new officers on the streets and replacing 10 police stations across the state

· $308 million investment to monitor Victoria’s most serious offenders

· New 24 hour police assistant line and four new police helicopters

· Upgrade IT systems at the Children’s and Magistrates’ courts

· $15 million investment in Victoria Legal Aid

· $228 million for youth justice Supermax prison

Jobs

· Added funding to boost Apprentice Support Officers, benefiting up to 17,500 first-year apprentices

MORE BUDGET COVERAGE:

Better, safer roads promise in Vic Budget

New jail, more cops in $2b boost