This year’s State Budget has been positioned as both a response to current financial pressures and a strategic set of investments to build the state’s future economic prosperity and safety.
Future funding to continue free weekend public transport for carers card holders (as announced some months ago) was really the main carer-specific initiative, with an over $2B investment in disability inclusion in Victorian schools likely to deliver significant benefits to students with disability attending those schools, as well as their families and carers.
A targeted increase in funding to Financial Counselling Victoria is welcome at a time when so many carers and other Victorians are under financial pressure, as are the population-wide financial relief measures around free/reduced-cost public transport until the end of 2026, and one-off reductions in car registration costs.
A package of additional funding for Palliative Care is also welcomed, with those funds supporting both an expansion in community palliative care and various other supports, including bereavement services and a specific allocation to Motor Neurone Disease Victoria.
Carers Victoria welcomes these initiatives and looks forward to seeing all political parties commit to practical initiatives that are targeted at recognising and supporting the 1 in 8 Victorians who are unpaid carers.
Further information about our pre-election asks can be accessed here.
