Budget Breakdown | Federal Budget 2025  

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With this year’s Federal Budget heavily geared towards cost-of-living relief, both parks and trade sectors should feel some positive flow-on effects.  

Tax cuts and other efforts to reduce living costs are likely to provide consumers with increased discretionary funds, with holidays and drive tourism products probable outlets for this spending. 

Funding placed into major roads and highways will also make holidaymakers more comfortable travelling longer distances – ultimately supporting regional dispersal and regional economies in the process. Importantly, we hope this will improve the safety of not just caravanners, but all motorists who enjoy our roads. 

The Government’s strategy to reignite economic growth prioritises “green manufacturing, power and energy,” with this year’s Budget offering little targeted support for existing manufacturing industries like the caravan sector. There is also limited funding allocated directly to tourism and regional development.  

Caravan Industry Association of Australia will continue to work with all sides of politics to secure commitments for our sector. In particular, we will be closely monitoring announcements leading into the election regarding funding for driver safety, education programs, and Round 2 of the Caravan Parks Grant Program. 

We are pleased to provide the following budget overview on matters that we anticipate affecting industry. 

Cost of Living 

In a bid to offset the escalating cost of living, every Australian taxpayer will receive an extra tax cut of up to $268 from 1 July 2026, and up to $536 every year from 1 July 2027, compared to 2024–25 tax settings. 

The Government expects its combined tax cuts to increase labour supply by 1.3 million hours per week, equivalent to more than 30,000 full time jobs, relative to 2023–24 tax settings. 

The Budget also offers extended energy bill relief to households and around 1 million small businesses, cheaper medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and a 20 per cent reduction on student debts, wiping $16 billion from outstanding student loans. 

Wage increases in aged care and early childhood education are intended to raise disposable incomes in parts of the population. 

Trade Reform 

In line with the Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda, the Budget provides advanced manufacturing support to non-traditional industries. These include tax incentives for clean energy technologies and expanded capacity for green metals production. It should be noted that as this is a continuation of the government’s existing Future Made in Australia policy, this will have very little direct impact on Australia’s caravan manufacturers.  

A $20 million package will support Australian manufacturers through the Buy Australian Campaign, which encourages consumers to buy Australian-made products. 

The Government is also introducing a new National Competition Policy, aimed at boosting annual GDP by up to $45 billion – around $5,000 per household.  

Non-compete clauses for low- and middle-income workers are also being abolished, allowing workers to move to higher-paying jobs or start their own business. 

Roads and Infrastructure  

The Government has committed $17.1 billion over ten years to road and rail projects around the country. These include: 

  • $7.2 billion for safety upgrades to the Bruce Highway (Northern Queensland) 
  • $350 million for upgrades to Western Australia’s Kwinana Freeway 
  • $200 million for the duplication of the Stuart Highway between Darwin and Katherine (Northern Territory) 
  • $200m for upgrades to Tasmania’s Arthur Highway 

The Budget also provides up to $3 billion to complete the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) across Australia, and $262 million for the preservation of Australian bushland. 

Housing 

The Government is targeting the construction of 1.2 million new homes nationally over five years. 

It is also committing $800 million to extending the Help to Buy scheme, as it looks to support more Australians buying homes with lower deposits and smaller mortgages.  

Foreign buyers will be banned from purchasing existing dwellings for a period of two years to help ease competitive pressures, although the market impact of this move remains uncertain.  

As mentioned in last year’s Budget Breakdown, it remains unclear as to whether any of this spending will deliver practical and pragmatic outcomes for MHE/LLC communities. 

Other key announcements

  • Substantial funding has been earmarked for disaster response, recovery, and resilience programs, reflecting the growing cost and frequency of extreme weather events, most notably Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. 
  • Provisions for universal access to at least three days of subsidized early childhood education. 
  • Permanent adoption of free TAFE courses to drive improved access to vocational training opportunities and to help to deliver on Australia’s skills needs.