Your 3-minute guide to the Queensland budget. Who are the winners and losers?

We’ve scoured the LNP’s first Queensland budget since 2014 to find the biggest winners and losers, so you don’t have to read more than 600 pages of detailed financial information.

Here’s our quick guide to where the money is going.

Who are the main winners and losers in the Queensland budget?Credit: Michael Howard

WINNERS

Parents: A $100 “Back to School” payment for every primary-school student in Queensland is the signature cost-of-living measure in this year’s budget. It will start January 1 and applies to students at all schools across the state – public or private. Ongoing funding for $200 kids’ sport vouchers, the Play On scheme, has been locked in. A four-year $20 million package to support women returning to work after having a child – or leaving for any other reason – was announced.

Public transport users: The LNP government has always been adamant it would not wind back 50 cent fares, but the initiative has now been budgeted as an ongoing measure, with the former Labor policy now referred to as “the Crisafulli government’s permanent 50¢ fares”. There is $5.75 billion earmarked with the federal government for faster rail between Logan and the Gold Coast, and $5.5 billion will be spent on “The Wave” linking Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.

An artist’s impression of the Wave, a new metro for the Sunshine Coast.Credit: Queensland government

Some first home buyers: Stamp duty for first home buyers has been waived for new builds or vacant land, and the first home owners grant has been doubled to $30,000. A $165 million Boost to Buy scheme – where the government effectively co-owns a stake in a property up to 30 per cent – was also announced, but just 1000 places will be offered over the next year. Under the plan, deposits could be as low as 2 per cent for participants.

Newly built homes will attract the waiver on stamp duty for first home buyers.Credit: Dan Peled

Domestic violence and crime campaigners: There will be a $25 million five-year trial of electronic monitoring of perpetrators. Almost $210 million will be spent on crisis accommodation, $37 million will go towards improving police responses to family violence, and $31.3 million will double the capacity of the 24/7 crisis service. New tasers, vests, body worn cameras and safety equipment for police will be funded through a $147.9 million package. An extra $275 million in financial assistance is earmarked for payments to victims of crime.

Patients: The government says it’s making the biggest health infrastructure investment in history, with an $18.5 billion “hospital rescue plan”. It says it can reduce ambulance ramping – where paramedics are forced to wait outside a hospital until there is space for a patient – below 30 per cent by 2028 with a $1.7 billion investment. An additional 4500 health workers will be hired over the next 12 months.

LOSERS

Other first-home buyers: Not only is the Boost to Buy scheme capped to about 1000 places, it’s also restricted to purchases under $1 million – locking would-be-home owners out of many parts of Brisbane. Brisbane dwelling prices climbed more than 70 per cent since March 2020, to a median value of $918,000 in May 2025.

The number of non-frontline senior executives will be capped at current levels until 2028.Credit: Matt Dennien

Public servant bosses and consultants: The government is capping non-frontline senior executive public servant numbers at present levels until 2028, with the hiring freeze saving $18 million over four years. The government is promising to cut back on spending on consultants, setting up its own Queensland Government Consulting Services organisation. It could hit the big four – Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC – hard.

Victoria Park stadium opponents: It was never really in doubt, but the treasurer today recommitted the government’s pledge to spend $7.1 billion on Olympic Games venues, including Victoria Park. This budget includes the delivery of the first minor venues, including the Sunshine Coast Stadium, Barlow Park Stadium in Cairns, and Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre.

Not everyone is in favour of the government’s plan to build a stadium at Victoria Park.Credit: William Davis

Economic conservatives: The Queensland LNP government will not deliver a single surplus in its first four years of government. It says it’s reduced total debt. The MYFER budget update, delivered by the LNP government in January 2025, estimated total debt would hit $217.8 billion by 2027-28. It says total debt will be $190.4 billion that year under the LNP. But Labor’s final budget, delivered in June 2024, had that 2027-28 debt figure even lower – at $172 billion. Budget papers also say: “A long-term deterioration of Queensland’s fiscal position has increased the likelihood of further heightened interest payments across the forseeable future.”

People who do the wrong thing: The Crisafulli government is predicting revenue from fines and forfeitures will surge to $850 million in 2025-26. “I hope I’m fully estimating the lawful conduct of the Queensland people,” says Treasurer David Janetzki, when asked about why traffic fines were expected to flat line.

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