Unlike the 2024-2025 Federal Budget, which included a number of changes that would directly impact international students, international education and international students were absent from Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget speech on 25 March 2025.
Nonetheless, there are a few key takeaways that may impact you as an international student living in Australia, as well as your local friends and the community around you. Let’s go through them.
Tax cuts
The government announced that more taxpayers will benefit from additional tax cuts in the coming years. The proposal would see the existing 16 per cent tax rate, which applies to taxable income between $18,201 and $45,000, dropped to 15 per cent from 1 July 2026. Then, from 1 July 2027, the rate would be lowered again to 14 per cent.
These measures could see an average worker gain $268 in tax savings in the 2026-27 financial year and $536 in the 2027-28 financial year compared to the 2024-25 financial year.
Cost-of-living relief measures
The cost-of-living continues to impact people across the world, but the Budget has revealed a few measures which could help.
Firstly, as part of a wider investment into Medicare, the government has committed to expanding bulk-billing incentives to ensure that more people can visit a general practitioner (GP) for free. This will also apply to international students visiting a bulk-billing GP with their OSHC. Pending legislation, the cost of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines will be reduced and capped at a maximum of $25 per script for general customers from 1 January 2026.
If you’re living in a rental property, energy bill rebates of $75 per quarter will continue to be provided for eligible Australian households until 31 December 2025 to help reduce inflation and energy prices.
Finally, $38.8 million has been allocated to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to crack down on misleading and deceptive pricing practices in the supermarket and retail sector. While this may not mean a reduction in the prices of groceries, it will mean more information is available, so you have more power to choose supermarkets that suit your budget.
What’s next?
With the federal election in May, you will be seeing a lot more news come out about proposed policy changes from parties. While, as an international student, you cannot vote in the federal election, it’s important to stay informed, as decisions may have an impact on you.
For example, Universities Australia has responded to the 2025-2026 Federal Budget, calling for the next federal government to “grow Australia’s international education sector sustainably without reducing its size or value.”
