Penalty rates and overtime rates for millions of Australian workers are one step closer to protection enshrined in law, with the Government introducing the legislation to Parliament.
The legislation delivers on our election commit to protect crucial entitlements for around 2.6 million modern award-reliant workers, many who count on penalty rates to make ends meet.
The legislation inserts a high-level principle into the Fair Work Act that operates alongside the modern awards objective, ensuring penalty rates and overtime can’t be rolled up into a single rate of pay where it leaves any individual employee worse off.
We get to enjoy Ballarat's best venues, cafes and shops because people like Ella and Riley (pictured) are working on the weekend. They deserve their penalty rates, and that's why our government is legislating to protect them.
Taking real action on climate change
The Albanese Government is acting on climate change with a new target of reducing emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035. In setting this range we're accepting the independent Climate Change Authority’s advice.
Our plan will protect the environment, create jobs, and boost our economy.
In three years, we’ve turned on enough renewables to power six million homes and now we’ll build on that success and pick up the pace.
Renewables are the cheapest form of new energy, so we’re investing $2 billion to deliver even more and we’re setting up a new $5 billion Net Zero Fund to help heavy industry do the heavy lifting switching to clean energy.
We’re also cutting transport emissions by investing in Australian-made clean fuels and opening more EV chargers near you.
Australians voted for real action, and we’ve got an ambitious but achievable plan, backed by science.
Cutting student debt by 20%
The Albanese Labor Government is delivering on the commitments we took to the last election.
In the first sitting week of Parliament in July 2025, we introduced legislation to cut student debt by 20%.
This will mean less debt and more money in peoples’ pockets, directly benefiting around 18,600 people in the Ballarat electorate alone.
While student debt was indexed on 1 June 2025, we’ve wiped it by 20% and backdated it to before this indexation was applied.
This will make sure that students get the full benefit of this cut.
Making medicines even cheaper
The Albanese Labor Government is making medicines even cheaper – with legislation being introduced to Parliament that will mean a prescription on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) will cost Australians no more than $25 from 1 January 2026.
The last time PBS medicines cost no more than $25 was 2004 – more than 20 years ago. This is another key cost of living measure delivered by our government.
Pensioners and concession cardholders will continue to benefit from the freeze to the cost of their PBS medicines, with the cost frozen at its current level of $7.70 until 2030.
Making home batteries cheaper
The Government’s Cheaper Home Battery program began in July.
We’re making home batteries cheaper for households and small businesses, slashing energy bills for good.
Here in Ballarat, the sun doesn’t always shine, but batteries for households and businesses means we can keep solar on tap and keep energy bills down consistently.
With a 30% discount on upfront costs, we’re making home batteries more affordable.
Batteries help push down peak demand, which pushes down prices for everyone.
It means a greater chance to use cheap solar when we need it most, which makes bills cheaper.
Paid parental leave extended
Reforms to paid parental leave commenced on 1 July 2025, giving around 180,000 families nationally a year more flexibility and support at one of the most important times of their lives.
The amount of paid parental leave available to families increased to 24 weeks, giving parents and extra two weeks to spend with their newest family member.
Making it easier to buy your first home
The Albanese Labor Government is making it easier for you to buy your first home. From 1 October 2025, every first home buyer will only need a 5% deposit.
This will cut years off the time it takes to save for a deposit, helping you into your own home sooner, and you won’t have to pay a single dollar in mortgage insurance.
Who is eligible?
Citizenship: Be an Australian citizen(s) or permanent resident(s).
Age: Be at least 18 years old.
Deposit: Have saved the minimum deposit of 5% (2% for single parents).
Property ownership: Be a first home buyer or a home buyer who has not owned a property in Australia in the last 10 years. For single parents, cannot have any other property interest when their home settles.
Owner-occupier:Be buying or building a residential property to live in.
Loan type: Receive an owner-occupier home loan with principal and interest repayments from a participating lender, for up to 30 years (plus up to 3 years to build a new home).
Single parent (for 2% deposits): Be a single parent or single legal guardian of one or more dependent children.
Social media minimum age law
The Albanese Government is taking world-leading action to reduce online harms experienced by young Australians by introducing a minimum age to access social media.
From 10 December 2025, a new law will require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from having a social media account and deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.
Delaying access to social media accounts until the age of 16 will protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development, giving them 3 more years to build real world connections and online resilience.
This change will reduce access for young people to some of the harmful aspects of social media, such as algorithms that recommend content, infinite scrolling, and other features designed to keep users continuously engaged. The law is intended to capture social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
But it won’t stop young people from staying in touch with friends online, playing games, learning new things, and being entertained. In fact, they will still be able to access messaging apps, online gaming, professional networking and development services, and services that are primarily for the purposes of education and health support.
This delay to social media will give young Australians more time to develop real world connections and digital literacy skills before they join global platforms.
