What’s changing in 2025

NEW YEAR... From welfare payments to new legislation, here are some of the things that are changing in 2025. Photo: Supplied

WITH the beginning of a new year, there are a raft of new changes that come into effect in 2025 worth noting.

Commonwealth debit surcharges

From January 1, 2025, the Federal Government stopped surcharges on debit card payments for frontline government services at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Services Australia.

Passport fee increase

The cost of applying for a passport has increased to keep pace with inflation. For adults aged 18 years and older it will cost $412 for a 10-year passport, or $14 more than last year.

Short stay levy

Victorian property owners who accept bookings for accommodation for less than 28 consecutive days will now have to pay a levy under a new state law. They will pay 7.5 per cent of the total booking fees paid, which includes things like GST and cleaning fees. For more information, visit the Victorian State Revenue Office website.

NEW YEAR… From welfare payments to new legislation, here are some of the things that are changing in 2025. Photo: Supplied

Engineered stone ban takes full effect

The Australian government has banned the importation of engineered stone, effective from January 1, 2024. This follows a ban on the manufacture, supply and installation in July. The ban aims to protect workers from silica dust exposure, which can cause deadly lung diseases. The government said banning imports was an extra deterrent to stamp out the use of engineered stone, as most products used in Australia were imported from overseas.

Centrelink payment increase

Some Centrelink payments for young Australians have been increased slightly, in line with indexation. This affects payments such as Youth Allowance, Abstudy, Austudy, and the Disability Support Pension (Under 21 with no dependent children). To learn more, go to the Department of Social Services website.

PBS indexation freeze

Prices for medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) usually increase in line with inflation on January 1 each year. However, under a 2024 Federal budget announcement, the maximum patient cost for all PBS medicines has been frozen. This means the cost of your PBS medicines is the same rate as it was in 2024 and will not increase with indexation in 2025. The freeze will be for one year for general patients, which applies to everyone with a Medicare card. There will be a five-year freeze for pensioners and other Commonwealth concession card holders.

Protecting employees

Australia has criminalised intentional wage theft, with employers facing up to 10 years in prison and substantial fines. This legislation targets deliberate underpayment of wages or superannuation, aiming to deter employers from exploiting workers. It does not apply to employers who unintentionally underpay employees or who pay incorrect amounts by mistake, and small businesses won’t be referred for criminal prosecution for underpaying if they comply with the voluntary small business wage compliance code.

Further, later this year right to disconnect rules will roll out to employees of small businesses. The protections were introduced last year for large businesses, but from August 26, 2025, small business employees will be able to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact from their employer or other work-related contacts outside of work hours. To learn more, go to the Fair Work Australia website.