NT to receive $10 million extra in GST thanks to Medicare updates

THE Territory is set to receive about $10 million extra in GST after 1000 Territorians updated their Medicare details from an interstate address.

More than 5000 people have updated their Medicare details in the NT. Picture: Publishing Ingram

THE Territory is set to receive about $10 million extra in GST after 1000 Territorians updated their Medicare details from an interstate address.

It follows the Territory Government’s “Are You being Counted?” campaign which saw three Territorians win $5000 each for updating their details.

More than 5000 Territorians updated their details during the campaign between March and May of this year, with 4000 people updating their address within the Territory and another 1000 updating from an interstate to a Territory address.

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Before the campaign, it was estimated about 4000 people currently living in the NT had not updated their details from an interstate address, meaning the NT was missing out on about $45 million per year in GST payments.

However, it is estimated around 3000 Territorians still have not updated their details from an interstate address.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner is urging Territorians to keep updating their details to help support the local economy.

“Every dollar counts, and every dollar helps protect a Territory job,” he said.

“If your Medicare details say you live in another state, then you are sending money interstate instead of here to the Territory, where it can benefit you, your family and your community.”

NT Treasurer Nicole Manison told a Public Accounts Committee [PAC] hearing in Darwin earlier this week they expected COVID-19 would have a “shocking” impact on the NT’s GST revenue.

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“We were already seeing that the GST pool was shrinking, and we were expecting to see that take a considerable hit going forward into the next financial year, but this June quarter is going to be shocking,” she said.

Almost 50 per cent of the Territory’s annual revenue of $6.6 billion comes from the GST.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will hand down the nation’s budget in Parliament on October 6.