#Budget2017: Here Are Five Things That Will Affect Students and Young People (AKA You)

The 2017 Federal Budget was announced last night and like a lot of other budgets, it included some things that sounded great and others that sounded not-so-great.

The usual suspects are all here, with a serious change to the welfare system coming and cuts to university funding that are going to make life harder for some students.

To give you an understanding of what’s likely to change for you, we’ve picked out the five things that stood out.

1. Public school funding will increase by $18.6 billion over the next 10 years.

Starting with the good news first. Public schools will receive a major increase in funding after the Government’s announcement that they will be commissioning a new report on education by Dr. David Gonski, dubbed Gonski 2.0.

The increases will see 4,500 schools receive more than five per cent extra in funding. Another 251 schools will receive increases of 2.5 per cent and under.

You can check out what your school will receive here.

2. University students will be paying more for their degree and will be paying it back quicker.

As expected, university funding will face cuts (or rather, efficiency dividends), with a curb to the annual increases in funding (nicer way of saying ‘CUTS!’). Students will also have to pay back their degrees quicker when the repayment threshold is lowered from $54,869 to $42,000 in July 2018.

To top it all off, there will also be an 1.8 per cent increase in course fees next year, which will rise to 7.5 per cent by 2022.

3. Those on NewStart will be moved to a new welfare scheme.

In one of the more controversial announcements of the budget, there will be a major overhaul of the welfare system.

By 2020, NewStart and Sickness Allowance payments as well as other welfare payments will be amalgamated into a new system titled Jobseeker payments. It’s allegedly the same amount of money as NewStart.

The government will also introduce a random drug testing trial, which will see up to 5,000 welfare recipients randomly tested for cannabis, methamphetamine and ecstasy. If they fail these tests, they will be punished with cuts or freezes to their welfare payments.

4. First home buyers will now be able to pay for a home deposit with their superannuation.

From July next year, first-home buyers will be able to withdraw money from their superannuation fund to put down a deposit on a home. However, the only super that can be withdrawn is that which has been added on top of employer contributions. It works similarly to a salary sacrifice, where you can contribute a certain amount of your weekly wage to the fund (meaning you may fall into a smaller tax bracket).

Contributions to house deposit funds will be capped at $30,000 in total, with a contribution amount of up to $15,000 allowed per year.

5. About $1.5 billion will go towards apprenticeships and traineeships.

There is a whole lotta dough going towards up-skilling young people, which is always a good thing. It could create about 300,000 apprenticeships and traineeships as well as a new mentorship service.

About $33 million will go towards new mentorship and pre-employment programs for Indigenous Australians who are 21 or under.

There you have it. What are your thoughts on the budget? Is it fair to students and young people?

Photo: Nickelodeon