A Centrelink boost for a million Aussies, sneaky new Airbnb taxes and bans on plastic straws: here are the January 1 changes you need to know
University students, Airbnb vacation rental owners and even those who drink juice through a plastic straw will be affected by the January 1 changes.
More More than a million Australians will get a Centrelink boost from today – from university students to carers and people with disabilities.
A new 7.5 per cent tax on Airbnb properties will also come into effect in Victoria on New Year’s Day, which will also cover cleaning costs.
And in New South Wales, plastic straws and spoons are being banned, while bosses across Australia who deliberately underpay their staff face jail time and millions of dollars in fines.
Here’s what you need to know about the new changes that come into effect on the first day of 2025.
Centrumlink
Australia’s youngest Centrelink recipients will see a 3.8 per cent increase in their payments on January 1, with the indexation significantly higher than the latest consumer price index of 2.8 per cent.
This includes Youth Allowance, Austudy, Youth Disability Pension and Care Allowance.
Youth Allowance for teenagers under 18 living at home will increase by $15 to $410.30 per fortnight – in line with the Abstudy rate for people of the same age who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
University students, Airbnb vacation rental owners and even those who drink juice through a plastic straw will be affected by the changes on January 1 (pictured are students from the University of New South Wales)
Those living and studying away from home, aged 18 to 24, will see their Youth Allowance or Austudy payment rise by $24.30 to $663.30.
Partnered Youth Allowance beneficiaries without dependent children will also receive a $24.30 increase, which rises to $670.30 per fortnight with the energy supplement.
Austudy recipients aged 25 or over will receive the same increase to the same level regardless of whether they have children or not.
The youth allowance applies to people between 16 and 21 years old who are looking for full-time work, for people between 18 and 24 years old who study full-time and for people between 16 and 24 years old who are doing an internship.
The disability pension for people living at home under the age of 18 will increase by $20.80 to $569.60.
Those aged 18 to 20 will get a boost of $23.10, taking it to $631.80.
Australians with disabilities who live independently will see their benefits increase by $30.10 every fortnight to $822.60.
The informal caregiver allowance will increase by $5.80 every two weeks to $159.30, benefiting more than 600,000 people caring for a loved one. The increase is in line with the Youth Disability Allowance.
Victoria’s new 7.5 per cent tax on short-term accommodation, including Airbnb, will come into effect on January 1 in a bid to raise $60 million (pictured is a young couple at the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road)
The 3.8 per cent increase across a range of Centrelink benefits is much more generous than recent inflation figures – annual inflation in the September quarter was 2.8 per cent based on the government’s temporary $300 electricity rebates, while underlying inflation was higher at 3.5 percent. percent without one-off factors.
The benefits are linked to the annual consumer price index for the June quarter, rather than the latest inflation data.
Airbnb tax
Victoria’s new 7.5 per cent tax on short-term accommodation, including Airbnb, will come into effect on January 1 in a bid to raise $60 million.
The state tax applies to real estate investors who accept bookings of less than 28 days.
The 7.5 percent flat charge covers the total reservation fees paid, including cleaning fees and GST, but not credit card fees.
This tax must be paid by a booking platform such as Airbnb or by the property owner who listed the short-term accommodation directly, meaning the costs are passed on to holidaymakers.
The charge comes into effect during the summer holidays, when coastal areas from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula to the Great Ocean Road are packed with tourists.
Labor is targeting investors, with the short-stay levy not affecting those offering temporary accommodation in their main residence.
Plastic straws in separate plastic packaging are now banned in New South Wales
Proceeds from the levy will fund Homes Victoria, a government agency that helps the homeless.
Labor is also promising to invest 25 per cent of the money in regional parts of the state, with Premier Jacinta Allan representing an electorate in Bendigo.
Former treasurer Tim Pallas announced the bill in August, but he resigned in mid-December after a decade in the role, just weeks after the Short Stay Levy Bill was passed by both houses of Parliament.
He also presided over a $975 flat-rate land tax for investors in a bid to pay off $31.5 billion in Covid lockdown debt, which has led to a downturn in Melbourne’s property market.
Plastic straws, spoons prohibited
Polystyrene cups, plastic spoons and straws will be banned in New South Wales from January 1 if they are produced as part of a ‘machine-automated process’.
This means that polystyrene cups containing dry noodles with sachets of flavoring or soup powder are illegal if they are machine sealed.
That includes plastic spoons in a plastic container that is also sealed on a production line, along with plastic straws attached to the outside of a juice box, known as poppers.
No extension of the ban will be granted, due to the hard deadline section of the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 (the Act).
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the aged care sector, including salaries previously covered by nurses’ rates and social, community, home and disability care prices (pictured is a Bunbury bartender in West -West Flanders). Australia)
This means that stores and non-profit organizations are not allowed to supply these items to their customers even if they have unsold stock, with the state Environmental Protection Authority encouraging alternatives such as paper straws and bamboo spoons.
The ban on plastic cutlery comes into effect more than two years after the ban on single-use plastic bags was introduced on November 1, 2022.
Sanctions for underpayment of wages
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the aged care sector, including salaries previously covered by the nurses award and those covered by the social, community, home care and disability care award.
Changes to the Fair Work Act mean individuals face a minimum fine of $1.565 million and up to 10 years in prison, while companies face a minimum fine of $7.825 million.
Small businesses, defined as fewer than 15 employees, are exempt from these laws and therefore from criminal prosecution, as a voluntary Wage Compliance Code for Small Businesses has been established.
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the aged care sector, including salaries previously covered by the nurses award and those covered by the social, community, home care and disability care award.