2026/27 Tasmanian Budget wrap-up

The community services industry approached this Budget with significant concern after repeated warnings about difficult decisions and short-term pain.

Through the Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks #PrioritiseallTasmanians campaign, we called on the Government to protect community services from cuts and commit to long-term funding certainty, because when services can’t cope with demand, Tasmanians miss out.

TasCOSS and many members remain deeply concerned by projected reductions in the Community Services output group expenditure over the Forward Estimates, with funding forecast to decline by 13.6%, compared to last year’s budget.

This creates serious uncertainty about the industry’s future capacity to respond to growing demand. TasCOSS will be seeking further detail from the Minister for Community and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Madeleine Ogilvie MP, about where these reductions will occur and what they mean for services and workforce capacity.

Importantly, there has also been some positive progress, including the first phase of five year funding contracts, movement toward a partnership agreement with the Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks, and a commitment to review current indexation rates.

Given increasing workforce and operational costs across the industry, TasCOSS is calling for the indexation review to be brought forward and to deliver a transparent, evidence-based indexation formula that reflects the true cost of delivering community services.

The Budget again included a Gender Budget Statement, measuring the impact of government initiatives on gender inequity.

Some statement indicators show real progress, including reductions in the gender pay gap and women on government boards.

However, systemic inequities in labour force participation, leadership representation and political participation, industry segregation, and access to social housing remain entrenched, and in some cases are getting worse.

There were also significant gaps in data in the Gender Budget Statement relating to personal safety, family and sexual violence, breast cancer screening and suicide. Available comparable data suggests these areas of inequity are not improving.

Non-binary and gender-diverse Tasmanians were also absent from the indicators included in the Gender Budget Statement.

For the Gender Budget Statement to genuinely drive progress on equity, the Government must go beyond analysis and demonstrate how gender impact assessments are shaping funding decisions, including efficiency measures, as well as embedding clear accountability, measurable outcomes and targeted investment in initiatives proven to reduce inequality in participation, safety and employment.

Tasmania’s housing crisis continues to worsen, with housing affordability at record lows, rental stress is increasing and the social housing waitlist continues to grow, reaching another record of 5,533 applicants — representing more than 9,000 Tasmanians.

TasCOSS was looking to this Budget for a significant commitment to increasing the supply of social housing, but disappointingly, we saw more of the same.

While we welcome announcements of new money for Jireh House and McCombe House, other measures are unlikely to meaningfully improve housing affordability, including the extension of the First Home Owner Grant at a reduced rate, a measure many economists argue actually increases house prices.

TasCOSS acknowledges the Budget includes investment in child safety reform, out-of-home care and youth justice responses arising from the Commission of Inquiry.

We also welcome continued investment in community service organisations supporting children, young people and families across Tasmania.

However, new and sustained investment in early intervention and prevention remains critical if we are serious about preventing harm before crisis occurs and delivering long-term change for children and young people.

While funding has been directed toward statutory and crisis responses, there appears to be less focus on the community-based supports that prevent children, young people and families reaching those systems in the first place.

This raises important questions about the Government’s long-term commitment to prevention, early intervention and community-led reform.

After housing costs, energy remains one of the largest household expenses, and as prices continue to rise, more Tasmanians are experiencing energy hardship.

The number of Tasmanian households in energy debt has reached a record high, with more than 14,800 customers behind on their energy bills.

Targeted and direct assistance by Government and energy businesses is needed to support struggling households before debt spirals out of control and Tasmanians become at risk of disconnection. 

TasCOSS’s Pre-Budget Submission sought some modest funding for Knock to Stay Connected — a program designed to prevent vulnerable households from being disconnected from electricity due to the inability to pay.

Under this program, TasNetworks conducts a personal visit to a home to provide information on available support and options to keep the customer connected. The program works, with more than 70% of visits preventing disconnection.

However customers are charged for this support — an additional $116 plus GST for the visit, with higher fees applying if disconnection proceeds.

We estimate TasNetworks has recouped more than $125,000 in fees in the first two years of the program, while at the same time, the Government returns from its energy businesses totalled more than $450 million.

Our Budget request was modest in the context of government energy business revenue, but potentially life-changing for households under severe financial pressure and charging vulnerable households for support at the point of crisis, risks deepening the hardship the program is designed to prevent.

Yet, the same Budget provided $16 million to subsidise our large industrials from higher prices due to Project Marinus.

Tasmania is facing a growing burden of chronic disease, and TasCOSS strongly supports the Government’s 20 year Preventive Health Strategy. Prevention is not an optional extra, it is one of the most economically responsible investments governments can make.

TasCOSS was looking to this Budget to establish a dedicated Prevention Fund worth at least 5% of the health budget, which would equate to approximately $183 million based on this year’s Budget.

Instead, the Budget delivers a modest first step of $5 million per year over the Forward Estimates for preventive health initiatives.

TasCOSS now wants to see this investment grow over time and more meaningfully engage community services in prevention and early intervention efforts.

The Australian Digital Inclusion Index again confirmed Tasmania as the most digitally disadvantaged state or territory in the country.

TasCOSS and others have consistently called for greater investment in digital skills and literacy, including our proposal to double funding for Digital Ready for Daily Life to $400,000 per year.

Instead, the program has been scrapped, while Libraries Tasmania, a critical enabler of digital access and skills, has also received a funding reduction in this Budget.

No new programs have been identified in the Budget papers to support digital skills and literacy, despite clear evidence about what is needed to improve digital inclusion and deliver significant social and economic benefits.

TasCOSS is calling on the Government to make digital inclusion a genuine priority through clear targets and sustained investment to help close Tasmania’s digital divide.