ECONOMY
- Budget deficit of $35.1 billion for 2015/16
- Unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent for 2015/16
- Economic growth of 2.75 per cent for 2015/16
- Iron ore price assumed to be US$48 a tonne for next two years
Pensions
- $2.4 billion saved by increasing asset test threshold and taper rate for the pension.
- Dumping 2014-15 proposal to index pensions to consumer price index
- $128 million for not going ahead with last budget's measure that would freeze income eligibility thresholds for three years
Health
- Almost $2 billion in savings
- 400 million to be distributed from Medical Research Future Fund
- $1.6 billion to list new drugs
- More consumer choice in aged care
Tax Evasion
- The target will be 30 companies that book sales overseas in low-tax or no-tax nations
- The government will also give the Australian Tax Office an extra $11.3 million over four years to implement new transfer pricing documentation standards
- The ATO will get new info on large companies that give details on their tax affairs including a country-by-country report
- The government is also working with business to develop a new voluntary code that will give public disclosure of their tax affairs.
Families
- An extra $3.5 billion over five year for childcare
- Focus on lower and middle income families, as well as disadvantaged children
- Two year trial for nannies, at a cost of $246 million
Welfare
- Young unemployed no longer have to wait six months for dole
- Unemployed up to the age of 25 wait four weeks
- Changes to keep 22-25 year olds on lower Youth Allowance delayed
Small business
The tax measures for small business are the single biggest spending items in the budget.
- Tax break for purchases up to $20,000
- Tax cut of 1.5 per cent for small companies
- Tax discount of 5 per cent for small unincorporated businesses
- Removal of fringe benefits tax on mobile devices
![Abbott and Hockey](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/duo.png)
![Pensions](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/BI_pensions.png)
![Health](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/BI_health.png)
![Tax Evasion](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/BI_tax.png)
![Families](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/BI_family.png)
![Welfare](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/BI_welfare.png)
![Business](http://web.archive.org./web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2015/fedBudget/slider/images/BI_business.png)
Federal Budget 2015 news
The banana tax hidden in the budget
![bananas](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/i/b/q/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh1h9a.1m6vuz.png/1431668307721.jpg)
Dan Harrison They are the new taxes you probably haven't heard of. but you'll be paying them when you go to the supermarket.
Coal projects could apply for govt loans
![Coal projects could receive government assistance under the scheme.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/z/s/q/l/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh1fsk.1m6vuz.png/1441931446452.jpg)
Lisa Cox Coal projects in the Galilee Basin and on the door step of the Great Barrier Reef could receive government financing under a $5 billion loan scheme in the federal budget.
Spill plotters praise Abbott's second budget
![Tony Abbott](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/1/l/y/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh1ix6.1m6vuz.png/1432250566320.jpg)
James Massola Four Liberal MPs who publicly backed the February spill motion to replace Tony Abbott have hailed the Coalition's second budget, while dismissing the prospect of another challenge to the Prime Minister.
Academic media site hit by budget cut
![Conversation cuts: Education Minister Christopher Pyne.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/1/p/8/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh1gpz.1m6vuz.png/1431617405018.jpg)
Matthew Knott Academic website The Conversation will lose a quarter of its annual budget because of the federal government's decision to scrap its funding.
Greens blast northern Australia plan
![Greens senator for Queensland Larissa Waters.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/t/4/d/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh1hpv.1m6vuz.png/1447131368934.jpg)
Cameron Atfield The Greens have taken aim at the Commonwealth government's plan to develop Australia's north through concessional infrastructure loans, saying it could be used to subsidise billionaire miners in the region.
Ebbs and flows of government staffing
![<p>](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/l/0/r/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0mka.1m6vuz.png/1432179228494.jpg)
Markus Mannheim Which parts of the federal bureaucracy are likely to start hiring?
Economy
Rosy assumptions could lead to blowout
![Treasuer Joe Hockey.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/s/g/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0qdo.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Matthew Knott and Gareth Hutchens The budget deficit will blow out by billions of dollars if the "rosy" predictions for economic growth in the budget papers are not realised, a leading economist warns.
Art gallery jumps on $20,000 tax write-off
![Treasuer Joe Hockey addressed the National Press Club at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 13 May 2015. Photo: Andrew Meares](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/p/h/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0lm6.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
James Massola, Nassim Khadem Treasurer Joe Hockey has found an unusual ally in his plan to boost the economy, with an exclusive Sydney art gallery urging customers to spend up big on art work for their offices.
Welfare
Young unemployed will still go hungry
![Labor's families spokeswoman Jenny Macklin has called for the policy on making young people wait four weeks for the dole to be scrapped.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/x/6/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0rod.1m6vuz.png/1431584744445.jpg)
Judith Ireland The community sector is far from sighing with relief over the Abbott government's plans to drop the waiting period for the dole from six months to one month.
'Have a go' becomes Abbott' new motto
![Prime Minister Tony Abbott addresses the media during a press conference after meeting with families to discuss childcare, during a home visit in Amaroo on Monday 11 May 2015. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/v/u/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0kab.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Matthew Knott, Fergus Hunter Forget debt and deficit disaster or "lifters not leaners. "Have a go" is where it's at for this year's budget.
Ross Gittins answers your questions
![Ross Gittins](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/d/9/g/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0dec.1m6vuz.png/1447757325187.jpg)
Ross Gittins How will the budget affect you? What are the biggest hits and misses? The SMH's economics editor Ross Gittins will be answering reader questions on the federal budget 2015.
'Tony's tradies', but Abbott denies early poll
![Prime Minister Tony Abbott sells the budget outside Parliament House in Canberra.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/b/d/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0acv.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Latika Bourke  Prime Minister Tony Abbott has coined the phrase "Tony's tradies" to describe the big winners out of his second budget.
Millions to transport nuclear waste
![It remains unclear if any biological tests have ever been conducted](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/m/u/b/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0i49.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Lisa Cox The Abbott government will spend nearly $27 million over four years to return radioactive waste that has been treated in the United Kingdom to Lucas Heights.
How do I claim this $20,000 tax break?
![Australian households are taking a diminishing share of the national economic pie, says progressive think tank Per Capita.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/j/v/5/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzgpb.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Nassim Khadem Cars, vans, kitchens and machinery – any item used for running the business – have become tax breaks overnight.
Indonesia downplays aid cuts
![Julie Bishop with Tony Abbott.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/x/n/e/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0kdu.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Jewel Topsfield The Indonesian government has downplayed a 40 per cent cut in aid from Australia, insisting it had nothing to do with the Bali nine executions and the republic no longer needed development assistance.
States vow to fight federal government
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/z/i/d/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0iwj.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
James Massola, Richard Willingham, Sean Nicholls Opposition leader Bill Shorten has lashed the "disastrous" $80 billion in cuts to schools and hospitals over a decade that were locked in by the Abbott government's second federal budget.
Will Abbott get budget through the Senate?
![Social Services Minister Scott Morrison is leading the government's budget sell.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/w/7/1/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzg74.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Adam Gartrell It's less ambitious and will no doubt prove more popular with voters. But will the Abbott government's second budget prove more successful in the Senate than the first one?
Pyne promised he'd fix it. Here's how he did it
![Leader of the House and Education Minister Christopher Pyne during a joint press conference with Universitities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robinson, at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 16 March 2015. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/0/5/5/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzh9f.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Matthew Knott He promised he'd fix it. Now the surprise has been revealed.
Tech start-ups questions govt expertise
!["The Australian government seems to misunderstand the distinction between small business and start-ups," Nitro chief executive Sam Chandler told Fairfax Media.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/k/9/f/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0bjw.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Rose Powell Australian tech start-ups have welcomed a suite of employment and tax tweaks in the federal budget, but warned the Australian government is still failing to understand high-growth technology companies.
Netflix tax not a magic elixir for local retailers
!["No amount of tinkering with an outdated tax system will make struggling businesses more competitive.": William Buck tax director Shane Crockett.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/y/d/h/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.ggzx3g.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Jared Lynch Slapping GST on Netflix and other multinational technology giants is unlikely to create a level playing field, taxation experts have warned.
Mark Latham unloads on live television
![Mark Latham](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/b/k/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0a79.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Megan Levy A rampaging Mark Latham has delivered a post-budget verbal assault on live breakfast television.
Young and childless: what's in it for you?
![The blues: If you're young, urban, childless, bitter and alone, budgets aren't for you.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/i/4/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0auk.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Michael Koziol So you're young, childless, bitter and alone - what's in the budget for you?
Health groups kept in the dark on funding cuts
![Spotlight: Many doctors are unsurprised by the scandals exposed to the public over the last few months.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/7/z/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh0asz.1m6vuz.png/1432613374370.jpg)
Amy Corderoy Health groups have been left scrambling after the federal budget revealed plans to cut nearly $2 billion from the health system, but gave little detail about which programs would be cut.
Credit rating
AAA rating safe, economists warn on growth
![Treasurer Joe Hockey delivering the Budget speech on Tuesday evening.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/0/6/s/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gh09qd.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Rose Powell Australia's AAA rating is safe for now after a budget aimed to boost consumer and business confidence but economist and analysts are warning there is still considerable policy change required for growth.
Overview
Hockey steadies ship and sets sail for growth
![Treasurer Joe Hockey during a press conference in Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 11 May 2015. Photo: Andrew Meares](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/z/b/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzgjd.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Mark Kenny Nearly $10 billion for families and small businesses headlines Joe Hockey's "have-a-go budget".
At a glance
Budget 2015 winners and losers
!["We are operating in a less risky world in terms of leverage in the banking system and, at the global level, with a far smaller shadow banking system," Pimco said.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/e/n/g/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzi3h.1m6vuz.png/1433806402089.jpg)
Are you one of the winners or losers from this year's budget?
Budget impact
How is your hip pocket nerve?
![The childcare package is designed to boost the government's standing with voters.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/v/d/r/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzg8q.1m6vuz.png/1445571894620.jpg)
Matt Wade Hardly a wallet was left untouched by Treasurer Joe Hockey's first budget. But this time most hip pockets will be left relatively unscathed.
Health
Nearly $2 billion in cuts to health system
![Health Minister Sussan Ley said the location rules and other pharmacy regulation and remuneration arrangements would be reviewed over the next two years.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/n/x/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzh4c.1m6vuz.png/1432151543172.jpg)
Amy Corderoy, Dan Harrison The government will cut nearly $2 billion from the health system over the next four years.
Infrastructure
Northern Australia to get $5b in loans
![One element of the Northern Australia White Paper is extra support for the cattle industry costing up to $100 million.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/j/j/a/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzhdq.1m6vuz.png/1446193136612.jpg)
Jacob Saulwick A $5 billion loan facility will be set up to promote infrastructure investment across northern Australia, one of the major new initiatives unveiled on Tuesday night.
Security
Foreign spies get big boost but defence idles
![Defence Minister Kevin Andrews.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/w/e/s/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzhgd.1m6vuz.png/1433148483819.jpg)
David Wroe Australia's foreign intelligence agency ASIS is set to get a massive funding boost of nearly $300 million.
Welfare
Dole wait backdown to cost $2 billion
![Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Social Services Minister Scott Morrison.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/z/t/p/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzggx.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Heath Aston, Judith Ireland The Abbott government has backed away from its punitive plan to make the young unemployed wait six months before accessing welfare.
Immigration
Detention centre to be wound back
![The Ocean Shield will now patrol Australia's waters 300 days a year.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/a/a/g/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzh2n.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Sarah Whyte The controversial detention centre on Christmas Island will wind back operations, as the Abbott government continues to tighten the net around Australia to stop asylum seeker boat arrivals.
Foreign
Foreign aid to Indonesia cut by nearly half
![Aid established after the Boxing Day tsunami was due to expire.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/z/8/e/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzhal.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Sarah Whyte Aid to Indonesia has been cut by nearly half and assistance offered to Africa has plummeted by 70 per cent in historic cuts to foreign aid.
Victoria
Abbott demands $1.5b East West Link cash
![Give it back: Premier Daniel Andrews.](/web/20151119160040im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/k/6/l/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.1mzh0l.1m6vuz.png/1431579785345.jpg)
Josh Gordon Tony Abbott is demanding Victoria hand back $1.5 billion of East West Link cash as a major saving to pad out his second budget, paving the way for a bitter federal-state showdown over infrastructure funding.