Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down Australia’s 2026 Federal Budget on Tuesday night, which included broken promises on migration levels and tax concessions.
Labor is predicting net overseas migration (NOM) of 295,000 this financial year and 245,000 the year after, and total NOM under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is now forecast to exceed 2 million by mid-2028.
The Budget deficit sits at $31.5 billion and is expected to remain at a similar level over the next four years, yet Labor is set to spend billions of dollars on foreigners, aboriginals, the Jewish community and Digital ID – here are the key details from the Budget Measures:
$1.05 billion for foreigners
- $550 million to “support high‑quality, climate‑resilient infrastructure in the Pacific and Timor‑Leste”
- $167.3 million to provide development assistance to Nauru
- $74.2 million to fight misuse of the protection visa system
- $68.5 million for “HIV treatment and pre‑exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)” for immigrants who are not eligible for Medicare
- $64.6 million to recruit Papua New Guinean citizens into the Australian Defence Force
- $33.2 million on Indonesia-related initiatives
- $27 million to make migrant workers follow the law
- $25.3 million on the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, mainly for a grants and fellowships program
- $19.8 million to fight abuse of the student visa system
- $10.8 million to “provide community‑led health literacy education to refugee and migrant women”
- $7.7 million to boost refugee employment
- $6.6 million to provide Advanced Medium Range Air‑to‑Air Missiles to the United Arab Emirates for use in self‑defence
$604.1 million in response to the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack
- $124 million for powerful lobby group the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (which helped write Mr Albanese’s “hate speech” and “hate groups” laws) to provide “enhanced security for the Jewish community”
- $131.1 million for the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
- $80 million to “enhance capabilities to counter terrorism threats online, and prevent violent extremism and youth radicalisation”
- $68.8 million for the Australian Federal Police’s National Security Investigations teams
- $46.7 million to provide wider support for the Jewish community
- $42.9 million to “provide immediate mental health supports to the Jewish community, the broader Bondi community, first responders, children and young people”
- $41 million for a variety education department anti-Semitism initiatives
- $25.1 million on gun and gel blaster control
- $32.6 million on social cohesion public awareness campaigns
- $13.6 million to refuse and cancel visas for anti-Semitism
- $9 million for a hate crimes database
- $4 million to Jewish charities
- $3 million for SBS podcast series
- $2.1 million to implement the “hate groups” listing framework and train immigration and visa officers on anti-Semitism
- $1 million for the eSafety Commissioner to provide online safety advice to address anti-Semitism
- $500,000 for security at Jewish camps in Victoria
- $500,000 to support the business recovery of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Bondi, which was firebombed by organised crime
$1.11 billion for aboriginals
- $793.7 million for “Closing the Gap” investments
- $218.3 million to “end violence” against indigenous women and children
- $48.3 million for aboriginal hostels
- $36.6 million to the Australian Electoral Commission to extend the Indigenous Electoral Participation program
- $6.8 million for aboriginals to “own, access and manage water”
- $4.2 million to continue the development of Ngurra: The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Precinct
- $2.2 million to “continue supporting the protection of Australia’s cultural and First Nations heritage sites by empowering local communities”
$654.3 million for Digital ID
- $357.4 million to the Australian Tax Office to operate myID
- $135.2 million to Services Australia to administer the Digital ID system
- $98 million to the ACCC to regulate Digital ID
- $30.8 million to the Department of Finance for “policy leadership and governance”
- $22.2 million for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to continue to provide privacy oversight
- $8 million to Treasury to help develop and maintain data standards
$449.3 million for RSV vaccines
- Big Pharma vaccine Arexvy will be provided to “older Australians aged 75 and over and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the age of 60”. RSV kills just eight elderly people a year and was considered too mild to track before 2021
$112.7 million to address online gambling harms
$50.4 million for the Office of the Special Investigator to continue investigating alleged Afghanistan war crimes
$24.7 million to recycle solar panels
$16.6 million to investigate sexual violence in the ADF
Header image: Left, Mr Albanese and ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim (ECAJ). Right, Mr Albanese and Mr Chalmers (PMO).
