The poor and disabled finance Albanese’s “most ambitious” budget
Behind the headlines and spin this budget shows actual broken promises – to the people who are being harmed the most
The 2026 federal budget will be remembered as the cruellest act of the Albanese government and will cause incalculable harm to disabled people, their carers and communities thanks to $36 billion in NDIS cuts that will harm those who are living in poverty the most.
At the same time, this government has offered nothing that will improve the lives of people who rely on Centrelink payments or others on a low income as we continue to drown in high and rapidly increasing living costs. As the RBA relentlessly pushes for higher unemployment and fewer job prospects, welfare recipients face continued punishment under the unlawfully operated welfare compliance regime.
Media contact: 0403 429 414 or 0413 261 362 / media at antipovertycentre.org
See below for comments on:
- social security payments including cashless welfare
- NDIS cuts
- employment services and welfare compliance penalties
- investment and income tax changes
- non-market housing
- household energy prices
Kristin O’Connell, an Antipoverty Centre spokesperson who relies on the disability support pension and NDIS to live, said:
On $36 billion in NDIS cuts over four years
The Albanese government has never been afraid of policies that kill people who need support, and the unfathomable size of these NDIS cuts is the most egregious example yet.
This budget targets disabled people but does nothing to scrutinise the private organisations who cash in on our need for support. While many of us will have our lives upturned, outsourced “human services” contractors will consolidate power and continue to cash in.
On changes that will reduce tax breaks for property investors and $250 income tax offsets
Reducing inequality is always the right thing to do, but ensuring that people who are wealthy enough to own multiple homes pay fairer taxes is only partly addressing the issue when existing investors can continue to negatively gear their extra homes.
The government’s tax changes ignore millions of people who pay regressive taxes like GST but do not have enough income to benefit from the meagre tax offset, which isn’t even enough to make a meaningful difference to those who will be able to access it.
On missing public housing investment and $6000 payments to around 4000 community housing landlords
If the Albanese government was serious helping those of us bearing the brunt of the housing crisis it would build high quality public homes for everyone who needs one, but there is nothing in this budget to reverse the trend of public housing destruction.
$6000 handouts to community housing landlords who have discriminated against people on Youth Allowance will not create a single home, all it will do is shuffle people around who are on impossibly long waiting lists without reducing the number of people rough sleeping or facing homelessness.
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan said:
On anticipated employment services “reform”:
$316 million has been announced to “improve” employment services, with $26.5 million set aside to prop up the collapsed National Customer Service Line where people are waiting for over four hours to get their payments reinstated and are stuck with abusive unemployment services as their complaints go unresolved.
Amanda Rishworth knows that millions of people over the years have had their payments unlawfully suspended or cancelled and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is doing everything in their power to cover up this serious issue.
On the Albanese government not abolishing income management as they promised:
It isn’t shocking that the government has thrown $202 million at controlling the income of poor people and breaking their ‘No One Left Behind’ and ‘Abolish Cashless Welfare’ election promises from 2022.
The most egregious is that $190m+ of this spend has not been published as it is going directly into the pockets of private companies to control the incomes of people across the continent.
This harmful and racist program was expanded and cemented in law by the Albanese government as they try and figure out how to spread it to every community across the country.
On no help for welfare recipients:
The Albanese government has again ignored the popular and necessary demand to increase the rate of social security payments. As inflation and unemployment continues to rise, at the same time housing and bills are hurting people on higher incomes, the poorest drowned long ago.
It is evident that there is nothing but contempt for no and low income people from the Albanese government, because if they truly believed in higher payments to support people they’d be out there doing the work to raise payments.
On increasing energy bills:
There was nothing in this budget to deal with the growing debt crisis in the energy market.
As energy bills and energy retailer profits continue to rise, the government is funding websites to tell people to “shop around”. This is a serious issue that needs immediate government intervention – they have to wipe the debts and do something to decrease energy prices for people struggling with the cost of living.
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