Winners and losers of the 2025 NSW Budget

From people hoping to buy a home to foster carers and new mums there are a number of winners, but there are also losers, like golfers, and families struggling with the cost of living. Here are the winners and losers.

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey in his office at Parliament House has handed down his budget. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

People hoping to crack into the property market and property developers are the big winners of Tuesday’s budget, which is geared to boosting the number of homes in the state, while reining in spending.

In this fiscally conservative budget, big cash splashes are few and far between – with little in the way of new measures to help relieve cost of living pressures.

Here are the winners and losers of the 2025/26 NSW Budget.

Winners

– Property developers and home buyers

The government’s new pre-finance guarantee means property developers looking to build off-the-plan homes will now have the government acting as guarantor to up to $1 billion worth of housing projects. This measure, along with new build-to-rent and work-in-kind schemes for developers will make it easier to build more homes and hopefully more affordable for people to buy and rent.

The building industry is among the winners. Picture: Gaye Gerard

– Foster carers and children in the child protection system

A cash injection of $1.2 billion to reform the child protection system and pay foster carers more is designed to increase the number of carers and while also hiring more child protection workers.

– New mothers

More than $105 million will go towards maternity services across the state, boosting the number of midwives with a focus on regional areas. $21.9 million of this will go towards supporting Indigenous mothers through pregnancy.

With $105m going towards maternity services, new mums are among the winners

– Tech start-ups

Founders of tech start-ups in NSW hoping to be the next Canva or Afterpay will get a nearly $80 million boost with the government’s Innovation Blueprint. This will support businesses to innovate by investing in a Tech Central Hub as well as investing in training for female founders.

– Hunters

The budget includes funding to establish a Conservation Hunting Authority, which will pave the way for changes in legislation that will give special rights to hunters to kill animals for conservation purposes. The government has indicated, as part of these measures it is looking at allowing hunters to collect bounties for killing feral animals – a move that is strongly opposed by invasive species eradication groups.

– Film makers

Baz Luhrmann is the ultimate winner of Tuesday’s budget with more than $380 million put aside to boost the state’s film industry. More than $100 million of this will go towards finding a second location for a film studio, while more than $280 million will support rebates and programs to support local productions.

– Courts, lawyers and prisons

The state’s justice institutions have received a major bump with nearly $35 million to upgrade court houses, $100 million to expand prison capacity and more than $48 million to hire more prosecutors.

– Renewable energy providers

Wind and solar farm operators waiting for transmission line projects to come online, will be pleased with the government’s $2.1 billion investment to get the infrastructure up and running. A new $115.5 million logistics precinct near Newcastle will help facilitate the movement of large wind turbine and solar parts to renewable energy zones across the state.

- Women’s health

NSW public schools students will learn about endometriosis, under a $250,000 scheme to improve education on women’s reproductive health to be rolled out over the next two years. Funding will be spent to develop professional learning for teachers, fact sheets and specific learning resources for the Kindergarten to Year 10 Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) syllabus. It follow a recent motion in the NSW Upper House for public schools to have access to the Pelvic Pain Foundation’s Periods, Pain and Endometriosis Program (PEPP Talk). Catholic and Independent schools have been able to run PEPP Talks for their students through federal government funding for the past five years.

- Corruption watchdog

NSW’s Independent Commission Against Corruption has been given an extra $50 million to move offices, store its data in the cloud and give its investigators a bump in their paychecks, with its workers sharing $15.3 million “to ensure position descriptions accurately reflect the responsibilities of each role and are graded appropriately”. The biggest expense is its physical infrastructure, with a relocation and fit-out to cost $13.3 million over the next year.

Losers

Families struggling with the cost of living will continue to feel the burn in their hip pocket.

– Families struggling with cost of living

Other than existing energy relief measures and toll relief measures there is very little new money to support families struggling with cost-of-living pressures. Additionally, a potential extension of the $60 toll cap has not been budgeted.

– Youth crime affected communities

While there is money to boost the capacity of prisons and prosecutors, there is very little in the budget to help support communities beset by a rise in youth crime.

– Public transport users in Western Sydney

Despite a $452 million investment into new buses and bus services across the state, Western Sydney residents holding out for new Metro projects not already in the pipeline will be disappointed. Other than a business case for a Metro between Tallowong and St Mary’s, it is unlikely Western Sydneysiders will see any new Metro projects not already announced anytime soon.

Golfers who use Moore Park Golf Course and driving range are among the losers. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

– Golfers

Golfers hoping the Minns government will change its mind about plans to turn the 18-hole Moore Park golf course into a nine-hole course will be disappointed, with the government planning to spend $50 million on the course’s conversion.

– Tax dodgers

The government will crackdown on tax dodgers with the hope of bringing in $744 million of lost revenue.

Originally published as Winners and losers of the 2025 NSW Budget