This Budget acknowledges the real challenges that Victorians are facing.
- Making healthcare easier to get by opening a new community hospital and supporting services at 3 others, and providing young families with better paediatric and maternity services.
- Investing in our kids’ future by continuing to fund kinder and building schools for a great education closer to home.
- Keeping communities safe with increased resources for Victoria Police and more PSOs, delivering serious consequences for violent crime, and boosting the Violence Reduction Unit to stop crime before it starts.
This Budget confirms a budget surplus of more than $700 million for 2025-26 and maintains operating surpluses over the forward estimates.
In the last 6 years, business investment is up 44%, with 123,000 new businesses opening in Victoria and more than 646,000 jobs created. Amid global economic challenges and unrest, the Victorian economy will continue to grow. That growth will be supported by the rapid rise of cutting-edge technologies creating new solutions to old ways of working.
This Budget continues to build for the future, with $4.4 billion total estimated investment (TEI) added to the Government’s infrastructure program.
Government Infrastructure Investment (GII) is projected to be $21.4 billion in 2025-26 before averaging $16.5 billion over the budget and forward estimates.
Property
This Budget also extends concessions for buying off-the-plan, which saves home buyers money and supports housing supply.
This Budget also invests $97 million to continue delivering housing reform and improving confidence in the building industry. This includes $16 million to protect consumers and raise standards in the building industry through the implementation of registration and licensing requirements.
Public Transport
- $318 million for maintenance and safety upgrades that will help the regional passenger rail network run more reliably
- $92 million to improve train services, including running up to nine daily services on the Shepparton Line, increasing capacity on the Wyndham Vale Line with larger trains, and uplift services along the six lines that run through Clifton Hill and Burnley
- $76 million to take the next steps towards electrification of the Melton Line
- $7.5 million to make the public transport network, cycling facilities and walking paths safer and more accessible.
Healthcare
This Budget also invests $284 million to open and operate hospitals – making it easier to get free public healthcare in your community – as well as supporting and expanding emergency departments. This includes:
- $95 million for Werribee Mercy Hospital emergency department expansion
- $45 million to open expanded acute care capacity at Angliss Hospital
- $35 million to uplift Cranbourne Community Hospital
- $34 million to uplift Craigieburn Community Hospital
- $20 million to uplift University Hospital Geelong paediatric emergency department
- $19 million to open Pakenham Community Hospital
- $7.1 million to operate the new PET scanner at Goulburn Valley Health
- $2.8 million for services at Mernda Community Hospital, building on the recent $25 million investment to open it
- $2 million to support early transition work at the New Melton Hospital.
Regional Health
- $75 million for the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, for projects ranging from operating theatre refurbishments to equipment upgrades
- $35 million for new and upgraded medical equipment in operating theatres, emergency departments, surgical wards, intensive care units and neonatal and maternity services across our public hospitals
- $20 million to continue upgrading and replacing engineering infrastructure at hospitals across Victoria
- $15 million to upgrade equipment and renew, reconfigure and refurbish metropolitan health services’ infrastructure.
Aged Care
- $36 million to sustain public sector residential aged care services
- $17 million to deliver hospital care at residential aged care facilities, allowing older Victorians to be cared for in their own home and reducing annual hospital presentations by almost 30,000
- $15 million to support changes requiring nurses to administer medication in non-government aged care, delivering higher-quality care
- $7.5 million to upgrade Victoria’s public sector residential aged care facilities
- $5.1 million to continue reducing delays in hospital discharge for older patients without decision-making capacity.
Mental Health
- $30 million for new and existing mental health Hospital in the Home beds to enable more people to access home-based acute inpatient mental health care
- $6.5 million for the prevention of suicide initiatives
- $5.4 million to continue the Youth Outreach and Recovery Service, Victoria’s dedicated statewide outreach service for young people with complex mental health challenges
- $4.9 million to support Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals and Hubs so they can keep delivering free care for anyone who needs it.
Education
- $552 million for school building maintenance and compliance, delivering high-quality spaces for learning, including to make school buildings more accessible for students and staff with disabilities
- $295 million to upgrade 31 schools across Victoria, including upgrades to visual and performing arts spaces, sports facilities and learning spaces
- $217 million for modular classrooms to provide flexible spaces for learning at schools where they’re needed including at Broadford Secondary College
- $104 million to acquire land for new schools and new campuses, including in Cardinia, Greater Geelong, Melbourne, Hume, Mitchell and Wyndham
- $25 million for minor works such as upgrading bathrooms and fixing roofs
- $22 million to begin planning for future new schools.
- $95 million to upgrade nine schools across Regional Victoria.
Police / Correction Centres and Court Services
- $229 million to increase capacity in the corrections system, including youth justice, ensuring we have the facilities to hold offenders accountable and keep the community safe
- $125 million for 40 new forensic mental health beds at Thomas Embling Hospital
- $117 million for a specialised, fast-tracked youth court list in the County Court, meaning alleged youth crime matters will be heard faster
- $11 million for maintenance, repair and renewal works of courts across the state
CFA
- $26 million to build new Country Fire Authority (CFA) stations at Charlton and Woodvale, in Central Victoria, Mirboo North, in South Gippsland, and Kingston, in the Central Highlands.
Sports & Cultural
- $29 million to continue the delivery of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project, including Arts Centre Melbourne and the National Gallery of Victoria
- $27 million to attract new international productions, digital games and visual effects through the new Victorian Screen Incentive stream of the Victorian Investment Fund
- $23 million to continue to attract business events to Melbourne and regional Victoria, including attracting events to the new Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre
- $12 million for Hamer Hall upgrades to support our outstanding music events
- $92 million to the State Sport Centres Trust and the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust to continue community access to sporting facilities, including the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
- $13 million to operationalise the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre and for the Victorian Convention and Exhibition Trust