2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget Wrap-Up

Read TasCOSS and the network of community services industry peaks budget responses.

On Thursday 12 September 2024, Treasurer Michael Ferguson handed down the latest Tasmanian state budget.

With the growing number of Tasmanians battling the effects of our affordability and housing crises, we were looking to this budget to deliver on a range of measures which would have made a tangible difference to the lives of Tasmanians living on low incomes in the long-term.

Yet the Tasmanian Government chose to prioritise projects over people and commit over $5 billion in infrastructure spending which will contribute to Tasmania’s net debt reaching $5.4 billion this financial year. Our repayments on that debt of $1.35 billion over the forward estimates will take precious money away from services to Tasmanians. We know this because last year Treasury said “the greater the cost of debt, the less funding available to provide direct services to the Tasmanian community.”

This means it’s more important than ever the Government makes wise spending decisions to achieve the best possible social and economic outcomes for the future. 

Community services announcements
There were a range of announcements for community services organisations which you can read here. While very welcome, they continue the pattern of small and short-term grants being favoured over the larger and longer-term funding that would make a significant and sustainable difference to community industry organisations and generate long-lasting outcomes for people, their communities and our state as a whole.

Gender Budget Statement
The Government delivered a Gender Budget Statement for the third year in a row. This document continues to develop  (from a very basic document in the first year), and we think the inclusion of case studies that analyse the potential gendered impacts of particular measures is more in-depth than last year. We understand a gender impact assessment toolkit was being developed to inform the design of policy and spending initiatives before they are implemented but there was no mention of this in this year’s statement. The statement also lacks commitments from the Government about what it intends to do to address any inequalities identified in the report. Still, it’s a start and we look forward to its continued development.

Industry sustainability
The budget delivered on the Government’s election commitment to an indexation approach for community services for the next four years, which is a step forward in providing some funding certainty, even though it does not fully reflect industry cost increases. We will be seeking more detail from the Government about the implementation of this policy, including which agencies and contracts it applies to. We are also keen to hear from our members about how adequately this commitment addresses your costs of doing business.

At our 2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget Briefing, Minister for Community Services, the Hon Roger Jaensch MP, spoke to indexation and other industry sustainability issues. He stated the Government has three priorities for our industry:

  • More certainty;
  • Less red tape in contracts (for our industry and the Government); and
  • Better outcomes.

He suggested he was open to further discussions on indexation but was clear that at least in the meantime, reducing ‘inefficiencies’ in funding (for example, by reducing administration of multiple short-term contracts) should ‘knock some dollars off costs.’ He also indicated he has held discussions with Treasury about shifting to five year contracts where possible but there was no concrete timeframe given for this. The same goes for the shift to funding for outcomes, and knowing how complicated that process has been in other jurisdictions we will be advocating strongly that the shift to five year contracts not be conditional on implementing an outcomes funding model.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet has agreed to our request to provide a briefing to members on funding-related topics so feel free to attend the upcoming session with questions. It’s a complicated area and we’re very aware that these changes will have different impacts on different sectors and organisations. The briefing will be held the week beginning 30 September 2024 and we will send invitations when the date and time are confirmed.

We’ve collated feedback and reactions to the budget from the community services industry network of peaks, which you can view at the following links:

TasCOSS 2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget Briefing
I’d like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who attended our 2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget Briefing. It was fantastic to see so many of our valued TasCOSS Members and supporters in the room. Our voice is only strong because you support us and our mission.

The Q&A session with Minister Jaensch was insightful and I’d like to once again thank the Minister for his time and for making himself accessible to the community services industry.

View the 2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget Briefing presentation slides (PDF, 631KB) and watch the recording of TasCOSS’s 2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget Briefing.

TasCOSS will continue to monitor the implementation of initiatives announced in the budget. If you or your organisation have a specific area of interest that you would like to bring to our attention, please contact Stephen Durney, Senior Policy Officer, on (03) 6169 9508 or email Stephen.

But wait, there’s more…
TasCOSS will be hosting two post-budget Policy Conversations. The first will be held on Monday 16 September 2024, where we will be joined by academic and researcher Professor Sharon Bessell to discuss the budget and its implications for Tasmanian families and children, as well as the communities and organisations working to keep all Tasmanian children safe and well. Find out more and register now!

On Tuesday 17 September, esteemed economist, Saul Eslake, will join us to unpack the budget and how well it aligns with the recommendations contained in his hot-off-the-press Independent Review of Tasmania’s State Finances, commissioned by the Government at the request of the Jacqui Lambie Network. Find out more and register now!

More 2024/25 Tasmanian State Budget analysis and information: