Federal Budget 2024: Analysing wellbeing measures
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By Nikki Stefanoff
When Jim Chalmers first became Treasurer in July 2022, he told Australians that his fiscal strategy would be taking a different approach to the economy than his predecessors.
At the time he called this approach ‘measuring what matters’ and stayed true to his word when, in October 2022, released the Measuring What Matters report, describing it at the time as a ‘living framework’ that would continue to evolve and improve.
While Measuring What Matters was Australia’s “first crack” at a wellbeing report and framework, the concept of a wellbeing economy wasn’t particularly new.
By 2022, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and Scotland had already published wellbeing reports and would go on to use subsequent federal budgets to help improve on the findings.
So, how did this budget fare on what might be termed ‘wellbeing’.
Financial support for women and people fleeing family violence
The Leaving Violence Program is set to become permanent with the scheme continuing to offer people leaving abusive relationships up to $5,000 in financial support. This is as well as referring them to social services and safety planning.
Chalmers also announced that $925.2 million would be allocated to fully fund the scheme for the next five years — heartening news for a program accessed more than 45,000 times since it began in 2021.
And a measure to help close the gap between men’s and women’s superannuation balances on retirement was announced with super being paid on government-funded parental leave from July 2025.
Overall health and wellbeing
Funding for new medicines to treat breast cancer, heart disease and other conditions was announced as was more investment in medical research, including funding for a national one-stop shop to streamline clinical trials and research focused on improving health outcomes for all Australians.
People living with complex gynecological conditions such as endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) will also now be able to access longer specialist consultations covered under Medicare from July next year, with the $49.1 million investment expected to provide 430,000 more services to people across the country.
Supporting the community
Elderly Australians and their families would have heard that half a billion dollars will be spent next financial year to release an extra 24,100 home care packages.
This is to help reduce waiting times for seniors and allow more people to live independently for longer.
Funding was also allocated to attracting and retaining aged care workers, including programs to support more home care workers in regional areas and better career pathways for nurses.
Specific funding was also announced for services and support for people with dementia and there would be more research investment for new diagnostic and treatment options.
And for the first time, funding for Aboriginal community-controlled organisations SNAICC and NATSIEC has been allocated.
The national advocacy group for First Nations children and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation will receive a total of $29.1 million over four years to work with the government on early childhood and education.
Affordable housing, homelessness and rental assistance
$1 billion of the government’s National Housing Infrastructure Facility – which is funding for essential housing project infrastructure such as utilities and roads – was announced as being directed towards crisis and transitional accommodation for young Australians, women and children fleeing domestic violence.
Funding for homelessness services was also said to be doubling through the government’s five-year agreement with the states and territories.
However, the ABC reported on the Greens’ claim that the money is being taken from social housing funds.
As for Australians renting homes, the treasurer announced the Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment would increase by 10 per cent from September 2024, working out at about $19 a fortnight extra for a single person.
Mission Australia’s Executive for Community, Family and Children’s Services, Ben Carbilis was less than impressed with what he heard.
“While any additional funding is welcome, the government’s efforts lack the necessary scale to prevent homelessness in the first place and to provide long-term relief to those without safe, secure and affordable homes.
“This is like bailing out a sinking boat with a bucket instead of repairing the leak.” Carbilis said.
“It’s time the government shifted from crisis solutions to prevention by investing in enough long-term social and affordable homes to meet the shortfall and by funding more homelessness prevention measures to stop the flood of homelessness in Australia.”
And this homelessness flood includes shockingly high numbers of women over the age of 50.
Mental health
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes good mental health as a basic human right and crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.
Pair that with what we know about Australia’s current mental health crisis and it would make sense for the government to invest in mental health initiatives. And they did. Sort of.
An amount of $888 million was announced and allocated to rolling out a new mental health initiative that would provide between five and 10 free cognitive-based therapy (CBT) sessions for ‘low intensity’ issues.
Plus, $588.5 million (over eight years) was allocated for a free national digital service to support Australians experiencing mental health distress – this would sit alongside a network of 61 new Medicare mental health centres, all of which will provide access to psychiatrists, psychologists and GPs.
Health, medication and the cost of Medicare
Still on Medicare, and funding was announced to open another 29 urgent care clinics offering Medicare-funded walk-in care seven days a week.
This is in addition to the 58 clinics that have already opened. Plus, the Medicare levy for low-income singles, families, seniors and pensioners is to be increased for the second year running
The cost of PBS-listed medications is set to be frozen for everyone with a Medicare card for one year, unless you’re a concession card holder or pensioner and then those prices will stay the same for five years.
Better access to these medications was also announced, with more Australians able to access the subsidised rate.
How does the budget stack up from a wellbeing perspective?
While the government’s surplus and the promise of a $300 energy rebate for all Australian households grabbed the headlines, there remained a wider question about how the country’s wellbeing success was being measured.
The truth is we don’t exactly know.
With the hype surrounding Australia’s first-ever wellbeing budget having well and truly died down, and subsequent budgets never directly referencing wellbeing goals, it remains hard to know how that journey towards a happier and economically healthier Australia is going.
We can obviously measure our own version of progress against well-being indicators like renewable energy, climate action, mental health, family violence and community support, but moving forward the government has to start being clearer about what positive societal change looks like.
After all, how will we know when the federal budget has helped the country hit those targets when no one seems entirely sure what they’re aiming for.