Federal Budget 2025 live updates: Insiders reveal when election will be held – as Albanese Government’s tax cuts bill passes just hours after Budget was handed down

The Prime Minister is expected to call the election for May 3, according to Labor insiders, news.com.au reported.

Anthony Albanese could call the election as early as Friday.

The PM had earlier refused to be swayed on giving an election date, simply saying it would be held in May.

The Coalition voted against the bill which passed 91 to 55.

It will now go to the Senate.

Labor needs the support of the Greens and three crossbenchers.

The result is expected to be known at 10pm on Wednesday.

Anthony Albanese had earlier taken a shot at the Coalition in the House of Reps, calling them ‘delulu with no solulu’ which is Gen-Z talk for ‘delusional without a solution’.

The Opposition Leader appeared on ABC News Breakfast shortly after Anthony Albanese on Wednesday morning and wasted no time trashing Labor’s Budget.

He was repeatedly asked whether the Coalition would look to bring any income tax cuts to the election, as had been announced in the Budget on Tuesday night.

But Mr Dutton refused to give a direct answer, instead saying he would explain more in his Budget reply on Thursday night, and promised big things.

‘Thursday night will be a big night because we’ll make a very significant announcement, and it will be about how we can help Australian families deal with Labor’s cost-of-living crisis,’ Mr Dutton said.

‘We want to restore the dream of homeownership.

‘We want to make sure that we can properly defend our country and keep Australians safe, and address the crisis that exists at the moment across the economy in many ways.

‘The Government’s created this crisis.’

Taking aother shot at Labor, Mr Dutton said they had created a crisis in relation to economis, housing and confidence.

‘There are a lot of people across the country who are working harder than ever before, and they just know that this Government’s budget has made it even harder for them to pay their bills,’ he said.

‘There’s nothing structural around the energy system of trying to address grocery price problems that people are experiencing every day in their own budgets.

‘And that’s the missed opportunity of this Budget.’

Mr Dutton was then asked about whether he had a target number for migration figures, which has been liked to the housing crisis, but again dodged the question completely.

‘We do and we’ll make that known in due course,’ he said.

Tasmanian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson was captured shouting at Anthony Albanese while he was giving a press conference outside Parliament House on Wednesday morning.

Mr Whish-Wilson said he wanted to make sure the Prime Minister knew how he felt about the threat being posed to the endangered Maugean skate, a species of fish only found on Tasmania’s west coast.

Hours before the budget, and weeks out from an election, the federal government on Tuesday introduced a bill that could water down Australia’s main nature laws by removing the environment minister’s ability to revoke some past decisions.

It means salmon fishing could be allowed to continue in the area, posing a direct threat to the skate.

‘I would’ve regretted it more in my life if I didn’t tell the prime minister what I thought and give him an earful which he bloody deserves,’ Mr Whish-Wilson told AAP.

‘I told him how shameful it was they were signing a death warrant for a species, I told them they’re a pack of mongrels.

‘Sometimes you’ve got to be prepared to speak out and the prime minister couldn’t ignore what I said to him this morning.’

The senator was seen with a towel draped over his shoulder, shouting at the PM before security ushered him away.

Question Time got off to a tense start with Peter Dutton asking the PM how 70c a day from the new tax cuts would benefit Aussies.

‘He asks about people under cost of living pressure. The same guy who voted just earlier today against tax cuts,’ the PM hit back.

‘We’ve topped up the tax cuts from last year to deliver $2,500 for people, $2,500 in peoples’ pockets that they said they would oppose before they saw it.

‘This is the mob that want to cut everything to pay for $600billion of their nuclear reactors.

‘They want to cut education, they want to cut health but what they won’t want to cut is peoples’ income taxes.’

The tax cuts bill has passed the House of Represenatives but was opposed by the Coalition.

Mr Chalmers was asked if he would be willing to do a debate with the Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor.

He said he was hoping the opportunity would arise and was shocked Mr Taylor hadn’t shown up to the press club address on Wednesday.

‘I’ve actually written to Angus with all of the requests that we received for debates,’ he said.

‘I think there are probably 10 different requests for debates. I would happily debate at least weekly during the election campaign.

‘I think that would be a good thing. And a lot of you put forward suggestions about the best forum for that was if there is a neutral forum, an appropriate forum we should do it.

‘I’ve made myself available for Q&A on Monday night to do an economic debate. Unfortunately he declined the opportunity and that’s for him to explain why he did that.’

Donald Trump is expected to reveal his new tariff regime next week.

Mr Chalmers was asked at the press club whether discussions had been held with members of the US government about how this would impact Australia.

‘We are engaging, as you would expect us to, wherever we can, we are engaging. And we’re speaking up for and standing up for Australia’s interest,’ the Treasurer replied.

‘The direct impact on our industries and workers and businesses, are obviously a big concern, we want to make sure we don’t trade away or give away the sorts of things that we cherish.

‘But more broadly as well these escalating trade tensions are a very substantial concern.’

‘Obviously very good people, including people in the room today, have suggested and lobbied and advocated for us to [include dental care in Medicare] and the answer to that question is the same as the answer to a lot of things we’d love to do,’ he said.

‘We’ve got to make sure that we can afford it and make sure there’s room for it in the budget.

‘In this budget, the priority is incentivising bulk billing and women’s health but that’s not to say that in some future budget, under a government of either persuasion, that we might find room for this.’

The Treasurer was asked about migration, with figures last week showing it had dropped to 380,000.

The Budget has forecast net migration to drop to 260,000 by next year, with Mr Chalmers grilled on how that would be achieved.

‘We want to make sure that we manage down net overseas migration and do it in a considered and methodical way which recognises that there are genuine economic needs for migration as well,’ he said,

‘You won’t solve, for example, a housing shortage without sufficient workers, mostly by training them but there’s also a role for migration.

‘We’re managing it down in a considered and methodical way.’

DiCaprio shared an Instagram post on Wednesday regarding the plight of the Maugean Skate, an endangered species of fish that is being threatened by industrial salmon farming.

The species is exclusively found in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast.

‘URGENT: This week the Australian government will decide the fate of Macquarie Harbour and has an opportunity to shut down destructive industrial non-native salmon farms, protecting the Maugean Skate,’ the actor wrote.

‘This shallow estuary off the Tasmanian coast is one of the most important places in the world – now designated as a #KeyBiodiversityArea – which means it’s essential for the planet’s overall health and the persistence of biodiversity.’

Labor has pledged $3million as part of its Budget over three years to help the endangered species.

DiCaprio had earlier this month blasted the Albanese government for giving the green light to a mine expanson that would wipe out a swathe of forest in Western Australia.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek last month approved South32 to expand its Worsley Alumina bauxite mine near Boddington, 120km south-east of Perth.

Almost 4,000 hectares of native bush in the Northern Jarrah Forests will be cut down in the development.

‘The Opposition makes it very clear that Australians would be worse off under Peter Dutton,’ he said during his National Press Club address.

‘Cutting cost of living help is the only motivation that seems to bind together this particular Coalition clown show.

‘They’ve opposed cuts to student debt. They’ve opposed energy bill relief. They’ve opposed cheaper early childhood education and cheaper medicines.

‘They’ve opposed more homes. They’ve opposed more urgent care clinics. And today they voted for higher taxes on Australian workers.

‘It beggars belief that a Liberal Shadow Treasurer can recommend to his party and walk into the Parliament and vote for higher taxes on Australian workers.

‘But that’s what happened today. So Australians would be much worse off if Peter Dutton had his way and they will be much worse off still if he wins.’

Jacqui Lambie had already fought back tears on Wednesday morning during an appearance on Sunrise where she clashed with Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume.

Speaking about the Budget later on she said the Treasurer should visit those living below the poverty line.

‘They’re really doing it really tough. The trouble is they don’t target things very well up here. And this is where the waste comes in. I don’t need that money (from the tax cuts), neither do many others,’ she told the ABC.

‘If he says we’re not going into a recession, maybe you should come into my Burnie office, darling, and have a walk around Burnie with me, so I can explain where we are heading.

‘Because there’s a very sad state of affairs on the north-west coast of Tasmania down there, and it is in my face, and those people need money.’

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the proposed tax cuts introduced at the Budget on Tuesday night would not benefit Australians, adding to a total saving of about $5 per week.

Jim Chalmers is working to legislate the tax cuts as soon as possible and has already introduced the bill to parliament.

The move forces Peter Dutton’s Coalition to support it or vote against it.

If the Opposition was to do the latter, it would suggest those tax cuts announced on Tuesday night wouldn’t be on the cards if the Coalition was voted into power in the upcoming election.

Mr Dutton was vague when asked what his tax cuts would look like on Wednesday morning, but promised more would be announced in his Budget reply on Thursday.

Peter Dutton had earlier discussed how the Coalition was wanting to have the number of public servants slashed to what it was before Labor was in power.

When asked about the matter on Wednesday morning, the Opposition leader said 40,000 was the figure they were looking to cut.

‘Because we want an efficient public service, but growing by 40,000, the number of public servants in Canberra is not going to help families put food on the table or deliver the services that they need as a family or as a pensioner,’ he told ABC News Breakfast.

‘And we will always manage the economy more effectively, and we will always keep Australians safe.’

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor echoed Mr Dutton’s statements later on Wednesday, saying ‘you don’t need a bigger team to have a better team’.

When asked directly whether 40,000 public servants would be losing their jobs, Mr Taylor said more would be announced in coming weeks.

‘There’s a natural attrition rate now in the public service, which is high because it’s big. And so we can rely on that,’ he said.

The Treasurer will speak at the National Press Club later on Wednesday morning after handing down his Budget on Tuesday night.

Mr Chalmers is due to being his post-Budget address at 12.30pm.

The Tasmanian independent senator clashed with Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume after she slammed Labor’s tax cuts as an ‘election bribe’.

’73c a day in 15 months’ time is nothing. It’s not even going to touch the sides for most Australians. That’s why we won’t be supporting what is clearly a cruel hoax and an election bribe,’ Ms Hume told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program on Wednesday.

Ms Lambie’s voice began to shake as she interrogated Ms Hume over many public servants, such as veterans, who would be cut under a Coalition government.

The Opposition had knocked back some of the measures announced in the Federal Budget on Tuesday night, referring to proposed tax cuts as a ‘ cruel hoax’ and an ‘election bribe’, claiming they were only intended for the next five weeks before the election.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was grilled about the reaction on Wednesday morning and said the Coalition was ‘completey wrong’.

‘They continue to oppose everything,’ he told Sunrise.

‘This year is a budget that sets Australia up. It provides for cost-of-living relief in the form of tax cuts, building on the tax cuts that came in this year, but also energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, free TAFE going forward.

‘Peter Dutton has a $600billion nuclear plan that will be paid for by cuts to education and health.’

Mr Albanese was later grilled on some of the more unusual funding included in the Budget, such as for pandas in Adelaide and giving the NSW government a further $13.6million to help build a St George Illawarra Dragons Community and High Performance Centre.

‘Are you trying to hit every constituency before the election?’ Mr Albanese was asked by ABC News Breakfast host James Glenday.

The PM insisted Labor was ‘governing for all Australians’.

‘All of these measures are important and we have a comprehensive plan. They open the doors of opportunity and we want to push them a bit wider,’ he said.

Mr Albanese then took the chance to take another dig at Mr Dutton, saying he ‘will cut everything except your taxes’, including funding to health and education.

‘It’s not surprising he supports the top end getting tax cuts but didn’t support a tax cut for every Australian, like he’s not supporting this tax cut for every Australian,’ he said.

The PM also wouldn’t be swayed on setting a date for the election, saying it would be in May but offered no further details.

Just 12 hours after Jim Chalmers handed down the Federal Budget, the Coalition have taken aim at the measures introduced.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described the proposed tax cuts as a ‘cruel hoax’.

From July 1, 2026, the 16 per cent tax rate, which applies to taxable income between $18,201 and $45,000, will be reduced to 15 per cent – saving taxpayers up to $268.

And from July 1, 2027, this tax rate will be reduced further to 14 per cent – adding up to $536 to taxpayer’s pockets.

But Mr Dutton was left unimpressed by what is essentially a saving of 70c a week.

‘We think it’s a cruel hoax and it’s obviously a budget for the next five weeks,’ he told ABC Radio National on Wednesday morning.

‘It’s not a document that is going to serve our country well over the next five years. And that’s the decision the government’s made to try and win favour with the public in the run up to an election.

‘But it’s not actually about providing support in a tangible way and 70 cents a week delivered in 12 months time, I just think is a slap in the face for Australian families.

‘And I think it doesn’t reflect the pressure that Labor has put families under.’

The Albanese government has pledged to inject millions of funding into some unexpected projects from mosquito and yellow ant control to an LGBTQIA+ museum and ‘panda diplomacy’.

Every Australian worker will be getting a $268 tax cut as part of Anthony Albanese’s bid to win over voters battling the cost-of-living crisis.

The relief will be delivered for two consecutive years, adding up to $536, as income tax rates are reduced from 2026 and 2027 for part-time workers.

From July 1, 2026, the 16 per cent tax rate, which applies to taxable income between $18,201 and $45,000, will be reduced to 15 per cent – saving taxpayers up to $268.

And from July 1, 2027, this tax rate will be reduced further to 14 per cent – adding up to $536 to taxpayer’s pockets.

Australia’s tax system is progressive, meaning that all 14 million of the country’s taxpayers will benefit from these cuts.

Households with energy bills:

Everyone in Australia and around one million small businesses will receive two automatic $75 rebates directly off their electricity bills through to December 31, 2025.

Aussies needing prescriptions:

Anthony Albanese announced last week medicines would be cheaper under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

New changes mean the total cost of a script will be cut from $31.60 to $25 and remain frozen at $7.70 for pensioners.

The Albanese government has made a $8.5billion promise to overhaul Medicare with bulk-billing incentives.

The Labor government estimate their policy will make nine out of ten visits to the GP free and fully covered by Medicare by 2030 – and 4,800 bulk billing practices across the country by the same deadline.

Dr Chalmers has committed to delivering a $793million women’s health package.

This will see new menopausal hormone therapies added to the PBS after more than 20 years, benefiting 150,000 women each year.

It will also help build 11 more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, with the services of all 33 clinics expanded to include specialised support for menopause and perimenopause.

Labor will guarantee eligibility for three days a week of subsidised childcare for every Aussie family earning less than $533,000.

Those wanting to switch jobs:

Dr Chalmers announced there will be a ban on non-complete clauses for workers earning less than $175,000.

This means they will be able to switch to higher-paid jobs or start their own businesses.

A combined $19billion will be wiped from existing student debt.

The Government will also increase the amount that people can earn before they are required to start paying back their loans from $54,435 in 2024–25 to $67,000 in 2025–26.

The government has set aside $2.6billion for further pay rises for 60,000 aged care nurses from March 1.

The government claims these increases will particularly benefit women, who make up 86 per cent of the aged care workforce.

The Albanese Government promised the Budget would confirm the freeze in the excise indexation increases on draught beer for two years.

The measure, which is estimated to cost taxpayers $200million in lost tax revenue, should mean that the price of a schooner remains the same.

The Help to Buy equity scheme, which allows buyers to purchase a home with a deposit as low as 2 per cent, will have salary caps expanded to make it more accessible.

The new funding commitment will increase income caps from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals and from $120,000 to $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.

Property price caps will also be linked to the average house price in each state and territory, with the government predicting it will make participants eligible for five million more homes across the country.

Rules around reasonable grounds for eviction will be tightened while there is also a 45 per cent increase in maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

Eligible apprentices in housing construction occupations will receive up to $10,000 in financial incentives over the course of their apprenticeships from 1 July 2025.

The consumer watchdog will get $38.8million to crack down on misleading and deceptive practices by major retailers

The government will reduce spending on consulting and labour hire firms by more than $700million over the next four years

Bosses won’t be able to slap non-compete clauses on employees leaving the workplace as part of a government crackdown

Foreign buyers will be banned for two years from purchasing existing homes in Australia, which will kick in from April

More than $156million will be spent from July to elevate a crack down on the illegal tobacco trade