2025 Victorian State Budget – Key Budget Measures Announced

In her first budget, Victorian treasurer Jaclyn Symes announced the following measures for Victoria.

• Public transport concessions
• Consumer fuel transparency
• Residential power rebates
• School-aged children sports & camps funding
• Ongoing stamp duty concessions
• Changes to the emergency services levy
• New business & workforce measures
• Regional & rural Victoria

Public transport concessions

Free public transport across metropolitan and regional train, tram and bus services for children under 18, and free weekend travel for Seniors Card holders, both commencing 1 January 2026.

Consumer fuel transparency

Fair Fuel Plan to cap and lock fuel prices, by requiring servos to publicly report their prices the day before they come into effect and locking them in for 24 hours. This data will be fed into a new Fuel Finder feature on the Service Victoria app, launching later this year.

Residential power rebates

• A new $100 round of the Power Saving Bonus for eligible households with a concession card.
• $30 million to support an extra 27,000 rebates to households to install electric heat pumps and solar hot water systems.
• $12 million to support the rollout of insulation upgrades under the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Program. The VEU discount is expected to halve the average cost of ceiling insulation from $3,000 to $1,500.

School-aged children sports & camps funding

An annual subsidy for the cost of camps, school sports and excursions for families with a health care or concession card whose children attend a state school. Annual payments will increase from $154 for primary school students and $256 for secondary school students to $400, from 1 January 2026.

In addition, there will be Get Active Kids vouchers for families worth up to $200, to help with the cost of fees, equipment and uniforms in connection with sporting programs.

Ongoing stamp duty concessions

Continuing the stamp duty concession for off-the-plan townhouses and apartments which extend the stamp duty concession announced in October 2024, removing stamp duty on eligible off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses until October 2026.

Prior to October 2024, the concession was only available to first-home buyers and owner occupiers, and eligibility was capped based on value. Under the revised provisions, anyone buying an eligible apartment, unit or townhouse off‑the‑plan – not just first‑home buyers and owner occupiers – will receive the stamp duty concession, for apartments, units and townhouses of any value.

Changes to the emergency services levy

From 1 July 2025, the Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) will be replaced by the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF). This covers a broader range of emergency services and for the first time include VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria, as well as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).

ESVF will be calculated based on a fixed charge that varies by property type, and a variable charge based on property value. The ESVF will be collected by councils and will appear on rates notices.

Farmers with multiple properties that operate as a single enterprise may be eligible to pay a single fixed charge under the single farming enterprise exemption.

The existing $50 concession for pensioners and veterans, and the concession for single farm enterprises, will continue to apply.

Changes under the ESVF From 1 July 2025:

• The vacant land category will be abolished, with vacant land allocated to its corresponding land use classification (e.g. vacant industrial land will be reclassified as industrial land).
• Variable rates will increase to raise additional revenue to fund the services being covered by the ESVF.

The overall impact of these changes will result in an almost doubling of the levy imposed on residential and commercial properties, and an approximate 64% increase in levies charged for industrial properties.

The greatest impact on the change to these levies however will be for primary production farm landholders where the levies will increase by 150% compared to the previous Fire Services Levy.

New business & workforce measures

• $35 million to deliver programs including one-to-one facilitation and advice for small and medium-sized businesses to boost exports and help them navigate a challenging international trade environment.
• $3 million Small Business Toolkits Program to support small businesses with advice and capability building, including localised workshops, live webinars, one-on-one confidential business advice and self-guided learning.
• $1 million Boosting Business Skills Mentoring program for up to 1,000 small business owners in priority sectors with dedicated mentoring from an experienced professional.
• $171 million to meet training and skills demand, including providing up to 20,000 Victorians with the opportunity to develop new skills or retrain through Free TAFE.
• $23 million to strengthen the apprenticeship system and help apprentices and trainees to complete their training.
• $475 million to enable creative agencies to deliver exhibitions, performances and experiences and $50 million to continue support for Victoria’s screen industry.

Regional & rural Victoria

Investment will be focused on enhancing current infrastructure to promote growth for key sectors serviced by regional Victoria. These measures will include:

• Investing $10 million to deliver key enabling infrastructure that will open up more industrial land across regional Victoria.
• $50 million regional allocation of a total $150 million Victorian Investment Fund to support fast growing businesses, enhance economic development, and generate capital investment and new jobs in regional cities and towns.
• $400,000 to pilot new Regional Launching Pads, offering new shared spaces, enabling regional businesses, entrepreneurs and investors to meet, work and collaborate.
• $54 million in agribusiness and food and fibre, funding research into emissions reduction technologies in agriculture, projects to manage pests and maintain strong biosecurity arrangements, and support to develop the hemp industry.

There will also be further boosts to regional transportation infrastructure, including:

• $52 million for regional train services, including the delivery of 40‑minute services on the Gippsland line to and from Traralgon, with passengers able to transfer to Metro Tunnel services at Pakenham or Caulfield.
• $270 million for maintenance and upgrades to the V/Line network, helping to ensure a reliable, safe and comfortable trip for passengers.
• $1.4 million to continue the Woodend and Yarrawonga FlexiRide bus services.

Other regional spending announced:

• $216 million in regional healthcare, including $84 million to maintain regional and rural ambulance resourcing across Victoria. This will maintain 15 regional dual paramedic ambulance crews upgraded from single paramedic crews, four 24-hour ambulance branches upgraded from on-call after hours, and four rural Peak Period Units to bolster services during periods of high demand.
• $52 million to deliver new and upgraded medical equipment, supporting operating suites, emergency departments, surgical wards, intensive care units and neonatal and maternity services in hospitals across the state.
• $6.6 million to support and develop skills for nurses and midwives in rural areas.
• $11 million for Victoria’s regional tourism boards and visitor economy partnerships.

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Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and should not be relied on as advice. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs and seek professional advice before making any decisions based on this information.