MAJOR CHANGES TO PAYMENTS AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING AUSTRALIANS IN 2025:
* Wage theft laws will come into effect, meaning employers who underpay workers will be committing a criminal offence
* More than one million Australians will see government payments increase, including youth allowance, ABSTUDY and carer allowance recipients
* Aged care workers will receive a bump to their wages, with minimum pay rates increasing for direct care workers, general care workers and aged care employees
* New vehicle efficiency standards come into effect, resulting in an anticipated 61 per cent reduction in passenger car emissions by 2029
* Medicare safety net thresholds will increase in line with inflation, meaning patients will have to spend more on out-of-hospital medical services before accessing a higher rebate level
* Another step to rid workplaces of silicosis with a ban on importations of engineered stone benchtops coming into effect
* Existing time limits will be removed for temporary medical incapacity exemptions from mutual obligation requirements, meaning welfare recipients won’t be denied payments because they are too sick
* Another 100,000 fee-free TAFE places and 8600 fee-free uni ready places will be made available
* A freeze on PBS co-payments means medicines will stay the same instead of rising with inflation for the first time in more than 25 years
* Most private health insurance funds will reset members’ annual extras limits
