By Bronte Gossling
It’s not just end-of-financial-year sales that could hit your hip pocket from July 1.
Depending on your stage of life and where you live, increases to household bills and other expenses – including driving fines in some jurisdictions – could leave your wallet lighter than is comfortable. But there are also some stipulations that may see millions of Australians bolster their savings. Here are the July 1 changes you should know about.
Some July 1 changes will see happier hip pockets, while others won’t. It depends on what stage of life you’re in, and where you live.Credit: Matt Willis
Age pension eligibility thresholds increasing
As put by Noel Whittaker, one of Australia’s leading personal finance experts, significant changes to the age pension means July 1 may as well be Christmas Day for many Australians aged 67 and above.
Although the pension rates remain unchanged, the thresholds determining eligibility for full or part pensions are rising with inflation.
From July 1, some part pensioners can move to a full pension, and some who may have been ineligible for a pension previously – perhaps due to being over the assets test cut-off – can start claiming a part pension.
The headline is that former asset-tested part-pensioner couples can get a $34.50 per fortnight pension increase, with the increase being $22.50 per fortnight for singles. Read the full story and see all the changes here.
In Tasmania, meanwhile, those who fall under RBF Life Pensions, Interim Invalidity Pensions and Parliamentary Pensions are being indexed at 1.150 per cent, in line with the Consumer Price Index, on July 1. The most recent January indexation rate was 1.237 per cent.
Superannuation accrual for government-funded parental leave scheme
In a positive step for birthing parents and primary caregivers, most of whom are women who will retire with significantly less super than their male peers, earnings under Services Australia’s Paid Parental Leave are accruing super for the first time from July 1.
As part of the Albanese’s government’s improvement of the government-funded scheme, parents of children born or adopted from July 1 can also get an extra 10 days of paid leave, increasing the 22 weeks’ paid leave to 24 weeks.
From July 2026, that’s expected to increase to 26 weeks, which new parents can claim up to three months before the child is expected to enter their care.
Minimum wage increase
Those under minimum award wages – estimated to be more than 2.6 million Australians – should see a pay increase of 3.5 per cent from the first full pay period either on or after July 1.
The Fair Work Commission has approved an increase to $948 per week, which is $24.95 per hour in a 38-hour week. This is up from last year’s $915.90, which saw those working 38-hour weeks under minimum award wages paid $24.10 per hour.
Pay rise for incoming skilled visa workers
Also seeing a pay increase are those looking to be remunerated under skilled visas, with thresholds increasing by 4.6 per cent when annual indexation comes into effect.
The Specialist Skills Income Threshold is increasing from $135,000 to $141,210 for applications lodged from July 1, with the Core Skills Income Threshold and Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold increasing from $73,150 to $76,515.
Applications lodged on or before June 30 will not have the new thresholds applied to them, and the new thresholds also don’t affect existing skilled visa holders.
Indexation applied to Centrelink payments
Some Centrelink payments are increasing by 2.4 per cent on July 1 in a bid to help ease the rising cost of living for the more than 2.4 million recipients of social security payments across the country.
This means the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A maximum payment for children under 13 is increasing to $227.36 per fortnight, with children 13 and over increasing to $295.82 per fortnight.
FTB Part B’s maximum rate, meanwhile, is increasing to $193.34, and families with the youngest child aged five or over should see an increased rate of $134.96 per fortnight.
Cost-of-living relief for students
July 1 means the South Australian government’s cost-of-living measures are coming into effect, seeing the 28-day student MetroCard pass capped at a maximum price of $10. That’s down from $28.60, meaning the average cost per trip is now 25 cents.
Nationwide, from July 1, tertiary students undergoing some mandatory placements required by teaching, nursing, midwifery or social work courses will no longer be doing it for free, with a $331.65 weekly allowance on the table.
The Albanese government’s “game-changing” 20 per cent cut to outstanding HECS debt is also expected to be legislated on July 22 when parliament returns.
Once the legislation is passed, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will automatically apply the debt reduction, calculating it based on what the amount was on June 1, 2025, and adjust any indexation applied to the outstanding debt retrospectively.
Payroll tax changes in some states and territories
If you’re a business owner in Victoria, then you’re in luck: from July 1, the payroll tax-free threshold increases by $100,000 to $1 million for annual returns, and by $8333 to $83,333 for monthly returns.
In the Northern Territory, meanwhile, the payroll tax-free threshold and maximum annual deduction increases from $1.5 million to $2.5 million on July 1, with the new annual deduction dropping to $1 for every $2 of taxable wages above the tax-free threshold. Previously, it was $1 for every $4.
The solar battery subsidy was a key Labor policy ahead of May’s election.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, iStock
Solar battery rebates come into effect
Only one in 40 Australian households have installed solar batteries, a figure the Albanese government pledged to increase with rebates ahead of the May 3 election.
From July 1, it’s not just Australian households that are eligible for an upfront 30 per cent discount on battery purchase and installation costs, but businesses and community organisations as well.
This could shave $4000 off overall costs per new home battery with rooftop solar panels, though those systems would take a decade to pay for themselves. Read the full story here.
Superannuation guarantee – and tax – changes
Australians who are growing their superannuation balances through mandatory employer contributions, rejoice! From July 1, the general super guarantee rate increases to 12 per cent, up 0.5 per cent from last year. For those who live and work on Norfolk Island, that rate is increasing by one per cent from FY2024-25 to 10 per cent from July 1. The maximum super contribution base, however, is decreasing by $2570 to $62,500.
One of Labor’s key policies – and a test for Treasurer Jim Chalmers – is also understood to be coming into effect on July 1. Those with superannuation balances of more than $3 million – thought to be roughly one in 200 Australian taxpayers – are effectively, from July 1, facing an additional 15 per cent tax on any investment earnings from above this figure.
If you are someone with a $3.5 million super balance, for example, you would continue to be taxed the discounted 15 per cent rate on everything earned on the first $3 million of your super balance from July 1. It’s the investment returns on the additional $500,000 that would be taxed at 30 per cent from that date.
Even though Labor’s proposal hasn’t officially passed through parliament yet, Chalmers signalled at a doorstop interview in Canberra in May that regardless of when the proposal actually gets through parliament, it’s “not unusual for tax changes to be legislated after a start date”.
For Australian taxpayers who have a superannuation balance of less than $3 million, the discounted taxation rate of 15 per cent on earnings from super in the accumulation phase will not change. Read the full story and see all the changes here.
Greater Sydney households copping wheelie bin fee hikes
If the debate for the best Australian city was neck and neck, the new cost of picking up household rubbish may just put Sydney second-best.
From July 1, residential domestic waste service fees rise for 31 of Greater Sydney’s 34 local councils, with some households expected to fork out more than four times above the current rate of inflation for standard bin collection services.
Lane Cove Council’s increase is the largest of any Sydney Council, up $76.75 to an annual fee of $637.76.
Residents under Georges River Council’s jurisdiction, however, are actually paying $13 less than the FY2024-25 fee. Read the full story and see the full rates list here.
Meanwhile, Tasmania’s water and sewage utilities provider, TasWater, is increasing its prices by 3.5 per cent, with the average Tasmanian residential customer expected to fork out an extra 12 cents per day.
Power bills are going up
In news that would surely elicit a quirk of the brow from Liberal Senator James Paterson, who spent weeks in the lead-up to the federal election crowing about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s failure to deliver his promised $275 cut to residential power bills, hundreds of thousands of Australian households are expected to pay more for electricity from July 1.
In May, the Australian Energy Regulator revealed its most recent round of annual price setting, increasing the maximum prices retailers can charge customers on standing power plans, from July 1, by up to 9.7 per cent in some hard-hit NSW areas and up to five per cent in certain parts of Victoria.
From July 1, the average annual retail price for power in Victoria is $1675, up $20 from the $1655 price set for the previous 12 months.
Prices in NSW, meanwhile, vary between the state’s three electricity distribution networks, with Ausgrid’s default price increasing by $155, Endeavour Energy up $188 and Essential Energy rising by $228. Read the full story here.
Snail mail is… slowing down
Australians who want to send letters overseas face a weighted average increase of five per cent from July 1, Australia Post says, with several retail products and services – including mail redirection and return-paid parcels – either increasing in price or discontinuing.
Domestic Parcel Post prices are increasing by a weighted average of 1.95 per cent, with Express Post costs also increasing by a weighted average of 1.52 per cent.
Separately, on June 23, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it did not object to Australia Post’s proposed 13.3 per cent stamp price increase, which would see the price of ordinary letters, for example, increase from $1.50 to $1.70.
Unless Minister for Communications Anika Wells disapproves the proposal within 30 days of receipt, it’s expected the notified letter prices will be increased by Australia Post from July 17.
Fines are going up
Penalty unit rates are being indexed by the Queensland government from July 1, meaning people convicted of a crime are paying $5.60 more per penalty unit for most offences under state legislation.
This means someone who is fined for driving without a licence – one of the most common criminal traffic offences in Queensland – facing the fine of up to 40 penalty units could pay $6676 instead of what would have been $6452 in the previous 12 months.
The Commonwealth penalty unit, meanwhile, was increased from $313 to $330 in 2024.
Separately, some car expenses and driving fines are increasing in some states thanks to Consumer Price Index changes.
Australian Taxation Office cracking down on late payments
The ATO is officially cracking down on latecomers, closing the door on some tax deductions to encourage prompt tax payments and compensate the community for the cost of delays.
According to Mark Chapman, HR Block’s director of tax communications, any interest the ATO charges for overdue or unpaid tax debts, or other fees, are no longer tax-deductible. Currently, the ATO’s general interest charge is 11.17 per cent, compounding daily. Read the full story here.
With David Barwell, Mike Foley, Millie Muroi, Dominic Powell, Noel Whittaker.
Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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