College students, Airbnb vacation home owners, and even those who drink juice through a plastic straw will be affected by the January 1 changes.
Further More than a million Australians are getting a Centrelink boost from today, from university students to carers and people with disabilities.
A new 7.5 per cent tax on Airbnb listings also comes 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 staff face jail and millions of dollars in fines.
Here’s what you need to know about the new changes coming into effect on the first day of 2025.
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Australia’s youngest Centrelink recipients will get a 3.8 per cent increase in their payments on January 1, with indexation significantly higher than the latest consumer price index of 2.8 per cent.
This covers Youth Allowance, Austudy, Disabled Youth Support Pension and Carer’s Allowance.
The youth allowance for teenagers under 18 living at home will increase by $15 to $410.30 a fortnight, in line with the Abstudy rate for those of the same age who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
University students, Airbnb vacation home owners and even those who drink juice through a plastic straw will be affected by the January 1 changes (pictured, students at the University of New South Wales)
Those living away from home and studying, aged 18 to 24, will see their youth allowance or Austudy payment increase by $24.30 to $663.30.
Recipients of the subsidy for young couples without dependent children also receive an increase of $24.30, which increases to $670.30 per fortnight with the energy supplement.
Austudy recipients aged 25 and over receive the same increase at the same level, regardless of whether they have children or not.
The youth allowance covers those aged 16 to 21 looking for full-time work, those aged 18 to 24 studying full-time and those aged 16 to 24 undertaking an apprenticeship.
The Disability Support Pension for children under 18 years of age living at home will increase by $20.80 to $569.60.
Those between 18 and 20 years old will receive an increase of $23.10, bringing it to $631.80.
Disabled Australians living independently will see their payments increase by $30.10 a fortnight to $822.60.
The caregiver allowance will increase by $5.80 per fortnight to $159.30, benefiting more than 600,000 people caring for a loved one. The increase is in line with the Youth Disability Supplement.
Victoria’s new 7.5 per cent tax on short-term accommodation, including Airbnb, comes into force on January 1 in a bid to raise $60 million (pictured is a young couple at the Los Angeles hotel). Twelve Apostles on Great Ocean Road).
The 3.8 per cent increase to a range of Centrelink benefits is much more generous than recent inflation figures – the September quarter annual headline inflation rate was 2.8 per cent based on temporary electricity rebates of $300 from the government, while the underlying inflation rate was higher at 3.5 percent. percent without specific factors.
Welfare payments 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 force on January 1 in a bid to raise $60 million.
The state government tax applies to real estate investors who accept bookings of less than 28 days.
The flat 7.5 per cent tax covers the total booking fees paid, including cleaning costs and GST, but not credit card fees.
This tax must be paid by a booking platform such as Airbnb or by the owner who directly provided the short-term accommodation, meaning the costs are passed on to tourists.
The charge will come into effect during the summer holidays, when coastal areas from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula to the Great Ocean Road are packed with tourists.
Laboral addresses investors with the short-stay rate that will not affect those who provide them with temporary accommodation in their main place of residence.
Plastic straws in separate plastic packaging now banned in New South Wales
Proceeds raised from the tax will fund Homes Victoria, a government agency that helps the homeless.
Labor also promises to invest 25 per cent of funds in regional areas of the state, with Premier Jacinta Allan representing the Bendigo electorate.
Former Treasurer Tim Pallas announced the bill in August, but resigned from his position in mid-December after a decade in office, just weeks after the short-lived tax bill was passed by both chambers of Parliament.
He had also presided over a flat $975 land tax for investors in a bid to pay off $31.5 billion of debt from the Covid lockdown, which has caused a slowdown in Melbourne’s property market.
Plastic straws and spoons are prohibited
Styrofoam cups, plastic spoons and straws are banned in NSW from January 1 if they were produced as part of a “machine-automated process”.
That means Styrofoam cups containing dried noodles with sachets of flavoring or soup powder will be illegal if they have been machine sealed.
So will plastic spoons inside a plastic container that has also been sealed on a production line, along with plastic straws attached to the outside of a juice box, commonly known as poppers.
No extension of the ban is permitted as the strict deadline forms part 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 those previously covered by the Nurses’ Award and those receiving the Social, Community, Care Award home care and disability services (pictured, a waiter from Bunbury in Western Australia)
This means stores and non-profit groups will not be able to supply these items to their customers, even if they still have unsold stock, and the state Environmental Protection Authority encourages alternatives such as paper straws and bamboo spoons.
The ban on plastic utensils comes into effect more than two years after single-use plastic bags were banned on November 1, 2022.
Penalties 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 those previously covered by the Nurses’ Award and those receiving the Social, Community, Care Award home care and services for the disabled.
Under changes to the Fair Work Act, individuals face a minimum fine of $1.565 million and up to 10 years in prison, while businesses face a minimum fine of $7.825 million.
Small businesses, defined as those with fewer than 15 people, are exempt from these laws and therefore from criminal prosecution, since a Voluntary Wage Compliance Code for Small Businesses is established.
New Year’s Day will also see a 3 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the aged care sector, including those previously covered by the Nurses’ Award and those receiving the Social, Community, Care Award home care and services for the disabled.