2025-26 Victorian Budget

20 May 2025

On Tuesday 20 May 2025, Treasurer the Hon. Jaclyn Symes MLC delivered the 2025-26 Victorian Budget. This Budget is the second delivered by the Allan Government, and the eleventh consecutive budget of the Victorian Labor Government.

Symes became the first woman to serve as Treasurer of Victoria when she was appointed to the role in December 2024, and in handing down the 2025-26 Victorian Budget she becomes the first to deliver a Budget. Symes is also just the second Treasurer to serve from the Legislative Council.

This Budget is focused on what matters most for Victorians, delivering real cost of living help and more investment in frontline services, all while returning the Budget to surplus for the first time since the pandemic.

As the Treasurer said in her speech today, “It’s a Budget – delivered by a Government – that is on Victorians’ side.”

The Treasurer’s Budget speech is available here.

The 2025-26 Victorian Budget is available in full here.

Budget Outlook

The 2025-26 Victorian Budget continues to deliver on the Labor Government’s fiscal strategy introduced in 2020, which aims to protect Victorian households and businesses and provide a strong foundation for recovery.

The Government has delivered on the first step of its strategy by creating jobs, reducing unemployment and restoring economic growth.

The second step of returning to an operating clash surplus has also been achieved. The Government achieved an operating cash surplus for the past two years, including an operating cash surplus of $2.6 billion in 2023-24, and continues to forecast operating cash surpluses across the forward estimates, reaching $5.8 billion in 2028-29.

With the 2025-26 Budget returning the state to a surplus of $600 million, the Allan Labor Government is delivering on the third step of its fiscal strategy. Surpluses are also expected to be delivered across the forward estimates, with surpluses of $1.9 billion in 2026-27 and $2.4 billion in 2027-28.

The fourth step of stabilising net debt as a percentage of GSP is expected to be achieved by 2026-27, with the states operating cash flow surpluses reducing the reliance on borrowings to fund capital expenditure.

The Government introduced a fifth step of its fiscal strategy in the previous budget, to reduce net debt as a percentage of GSP. This step will be delivered in the next budget, with net debt as a percentage of GSP forecast to decline from 25.2 per cent in 2026-27 to 25.0 per cent in 2027-28 and then decline further to 24.9 per cent in 2028-29.

2025-26 Victorian Budget Commitments

Health

Health and Emergency Care

• $230 million towards hospital waiting departments.
• $437 million investment to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) to triple its current capacity.
• $50 million for public aged care.
• $529 million to help expand access to free healthcare and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
  • $27 million to operate 12 Urgent Care Centres.
  • $18 million to enable more pharmacists to deliver community medical care and prescribe more medications, with no consultation fee to pay.

Workforce

• $203 million for healthcare staffing including training.
  • $95 million to:
    • Fund 1,100 more positions for nursing and midwifery students.
    • Support for nurse practitioners in high-demand areas such as aged care, mental health primary care and urgent care settings.
    • Provide more opportunities for enrolled nurses to train as practising nurses within their workplace.
    • Making sure nurses and midwives in rural Victoria have the same opportunity to build their skills through clinical placements.
  • $47 million to:
    • Support for Victoria’s mental health workers by continuing the psychology registrar program, Junior Medical Officer psychiatry rotations program, and the psychiatry registrar training and support program.
• $167 million to improve ambulance response times with more call takers and dispatchers at Triple Zero Victoria.

Health Infrastructure

• $171 million to continue building and upgrading Victoria’s health system infrastructure.
  • $57 million to upgrade infrastructure at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
  • $52 million for 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.
• $634 million opening and operationalising of 9 new or redeveloped hospitals at Frankston, Footscray, Maryborough and other sites across the state.
• $58 million boost to ambulance services.
  • $28 million for more beds at high-demand sites, including surge inpatient beds at each hospital.
  • $27 million to expand and upgrade Short Stay Units to improve patient care and reduce wait times in emergency departments, including funding for additional nurse practitioners.

Mental Health

• $497 million to mental healthcare services.
  • $23 million to expand the network of Locals, which provide free mental health care to Victorians without the need for a referral or a Medicare card. This will establish 7 new services, bringing the total to 15.
  • $289 million to support 82 inpatient mental health beds and 29 Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Emergency Department Hub beds across 6 health services.
  • $12 million to support Hospital in the Home beds, providing acute mental health support and treatment in the comfort of a patient’s home.
• $35 million in mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, including the establishment of the Parkville Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.
• $25 million towards suicide prevention programs.

Energy, Environment & Climate Action

Agriculture

• $6.1 million in funding is provided across forward estimates to continue research in partnership with industry in high-priority emissions reduction mechanisms for Victoria’s dairy sector. Funding will also assist in the commercialisation of emerging technologies to support future agriculture sector emissions reductions.
• $16.7 million across forward estimates is provided to safeguard Victoria’s agriculture sector from biosecurity threats including:
  • maintaining biosecurity surveillance, specialist technical capability and rapid response diagnostic capability.
  • supporting the Varroa mite and avian influenza biosecurity response in Victoria and for the State’s contribution to national biosecurity and response agreements.
  • supporting existing regional fruit fly governance groups in the Goulburn Murray Valley Sunraysia and the Yarra Valley.

Energy

• $142 million in funding is provided across forward estimates to strengthen the department’s core energy functions and help ensure safe, reliable and affordable energy is maintained throughout the energy transition. This initiative will be partially funded from the Sustainability Fund (subject to an eligibility assessment).
• $2.3 million in funding is provided to develop a renewable gas scheme to assist securing renewable gas volumes for industrial and gas-powered electricity generation users that can’t electrify over time, and to support Victoria’s emission reduction targets.
• $10 million in extra funding is provided to progress planning and undertake activities to deliver the first 2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity in Victoria.
• $50.6 million in funding is provided for a one-off $100 Power Saving Bonus for eligible Victorian concession card households that use the Victorian Energy Compare website to search for the cheapest electricity deal. Funding is also provided to expand the services of the Energy Assistance Program in response to increasing demand, ensuring tailored assistance for vulnerable and hard-to-reach consumers is preserved.

Environment

• $36.2 million in funding is provided across forward estimates to address recovery needs from the Western Victoria Bushfires. Funding is also provided to support the Wildwood Wildlife Shelter.
• $17.3 million is provided across forward estimates to continue the Landcare and Coastcare volunteer programs, enabling Victorian communities to engage in environmental conservation and help address biodiversity loss.
• $10.5 million in funding is provided to support half-price camping at all of Parks Victoria’s 131 paid campgrounds from 1 July 2025 until 30 June 2027.
• $15.3 million in funding is provided to continue to allow children under 16 years of age to enjoy free admission to Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Kyabram Fauna Park and Werribee Open Range Zoo on weekends, public holidays and during school holidays.

Resources

• $37.9 million across forward estimates is provided to Resources Victoria to support a sustainable mining and quarrying sector through strong regulations and timely decision making.
• $29.7 million is provided to extend the Solar Victoria Hot water rebate program to enable more eligible households to install energy efficient electric heat pumps and solar hot water systems in their homes.

Regulation

• $94.8 million across the forward estimates is provided for the Environment Protection Authority to ensure it can continue to protect Victoria’s environment from pollution and waste and fulfil its obligations under the Environment Protection Act 2017. This initiative will be funded from the Municipal and Industrial Waste Levy.

Education

Additional Supports for Students with Disabilities

• $237.3 million to continue the rollout of improved disability and inclusion practices in Victorian government schools.
• $33.4 million to continue transport assistance for eligible students to travel to their government specialist school. New services will also be introduced from the 2026 school year to meet growth in demand.

Kindergarten Delivery

• $160.3 million to continue the Best Start, Best Life reforms, including Free Kinder, Pre-Prep, 50 government-owned Early Learning and Care Centres and Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.

Promoting Equal Access to Education

• $28.3 million to increase the number of students supported by the English as an Additional Language program for the 2026 school year, in line with growth in enrolments.
• $38.1 million to increase payments from the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund to $400 for eligible government and non-government school students, to assist families with the cost of camps, sporting activities and excursions at schools.

School Education

• $25.3 million to the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership to continue delivering quality, evidence-informed professional learning that enhances the capability and performance of Victorian teachers and school leaders.
• $11.3 million to continue the delivery of initiatives under the Senior Secondary Pathways Reform agenda, including Jobs, Skills and Pathways Coordination funding and the Victorian Pathways Certificate. Funding will also assist schools to ensure that students who leave school early are supported into alternative pathways in the labour force or further education.
• $15.3 million to enhance the delivery of numeracy curriculum in Victorian schools.
• $10.7 million to enhance the delivery of literacy curriculum in Victorian schools.
• $84.8 million to meet student enrolment growth in government and non-government schools.
• $12.7 million for schools to continue support for high-ability students and access high-ability practice school leaders through the Victorian High-Ability Program and the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series.

Supports for Schools and Staff

• $29.2 million to continue supporting Victorian teachers in the early stages of their career.
• $30.6 million to government schools for maintenance and compliance programs.
• $26.1 million to procure modular classrooms to relieve pressure at schools that are reaching their capacity and to provide additional functional spaces for learning.
• $27.9 million to maintain current workforce reforms that strengthen Victoria’s teaching workforce.

Transport & Planning

Public Transport

• $320 million to make public transport free for Victorians under 18 every day and seniors on weekends. This figure also incorporates the pre-exisiting subsidised costs to V-Line travel fees.
• $727 million to switch on and run services through the Metro Tunnel, and more trains along the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
• $46 million to deliver additional train services on the Sandringham, Craigieburn, Upfield and Werribee lines made possible by the extra capacity created in the City Loop.
• $52 million for regional train services, including the delivery of 40‑minute services on the Gippsland line to and from Traralgon.
• $270 million for regional rail network maintenance and upgrades.
• $72 million for tram safety and infrastructure upgrades.

Public Transport Infrastructure

• $4.1 billion to rebuild Sunshine Station into a transport superhub to assist the delivery and development of the Airport Rail project.
• $162 million to improve our bus network.

Roads

• $976 million to deliver a Better Roads Blitz, fixing potholes and resurfacing roads across the state over the next 12 months.
• $1.2 billion joint investment with the Commonwealth Government to tackle congestion and improve safety and connectivity on major roadways across the state.
• $38 million for improvements to the metropolitan road network and essential maintenance on the West Gate Bridge.
• $412 million to roll out safety upgrades across the state including the installation of road safety barriers and adding more cameras that detect mobile phone use and people not wearing seatbelts.

Planning and Housing

• $24 million to deliver new planning controls for another 50 train and tram zones to help deliver 300 000 new homes.
• $249 million to enable infrastructure works – such as roads, sewerage and water – that increase housing supply across the state.
• $12 million to unlock more greenfield land for new homes with backyards.
• $50 million investment will establish a Future of Housing Construction TAFE Centre of Excellence at Melbourne Polytechnic train workers in modular and prefabricated construction technologies.
• $10 million to deliver key enabling infrastructure that will open up more industrial land across regional Victoria.
• $61 million to extend the stamp duty concession.
• $249 million, in partnership with the Commonwealth Government as part of the Housing Support Program to increase social housing supply.

Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Medical Research

• $24.6 million across forward estimates is provided to Victorian-based independent medical research institutes through a boost to the Operational Infrastructure Support (OIS) Program. Additional funding will further support institutes to deliver research programs, and maintain Victoria’s reputation as a leader in health, medical research and innovation.

Creative Industries

• $6.1 million this year and a further $11 million over forward estimates is provided to continue initiatives that support Victoria’s arts and creative industries including First Peoples creative events and initiatives, funding for creative organisations, regional and outer suburban touring and activity, and the annual Melbourne International Games Week.
• $118.4 million and a further $317.4 million over forward estimates is provided for Victoria’s creative agencies, including Arts Centre Melbourne, Museums Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Recital Centre, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Geelong Arts Centre and State Library Victoria, to support operations, deliver programs, and undertake long-term strategic planning.$50.2 million across forward estimates is provided to support Victoria’s screen industry, including through the Victorian Screen Rebate and the Victorian Production Fund.

Defence

• $7.3 million across forward estimates is provided for Victoria’s defence and space industry and supply chains to secure major defence contracts through advocacy, advisory and capability development, including continued support for the Victorian Defence and Space Network and participation in key trade shows. Programs will be delivered in partnership with the Victorian Defence Industry Advocate, and Defence Council Victoria and the Defence Science Institute operations will also be supported.

Community Sport

• $20 million is provided to continue the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSIF) and deliver strategic projects to develop high-quality, accessible community sports infrastructure.
• $20.3 million across forward estimates is provided to continue support for community sport and active recreation programs that address key barriers to participation.

Tourism and International Attraction

• $11 million across forward estimates is provided to support Victoria’s regional tourism boards and visitor economy partnerships.
• $18.6 million across forward estimates in funding is provided to continue the delivery of International Education and Study Melbourne’s programs and services and drive the long-term sustainability of Victoria’s international education sector.

Trade, Skills and Investment

• $18.8 million across forward estimates is provided to continue the Victorian Government Trade and Investment network operations.
• $37.5 million every year across forward estimates is provided to establish a consolidated investment fund, including a dedicated regional stream, which provides domestic and international investors support to secure business investment that creates jobs, supports innovation and underpins Victoria’s long term economic growth in priority sectors.
• $22.8 million across forward estimates is provided to Apprenticeships Victoria to continue to support apprentices, trainees and their employers to meet Victoria’s workforce priorities, including delivery of the Priority Apprenticeship Model and implementation of Apprenticeships Taskforce recommendations and apprenticeship regulatory reform.
• $26.8 million and a future $144.5 million is provided to meet expected demand for eligible students to undertake government-subsided training and to increase access for students to reskill in priority Free TAFE courses enhancing their skills and employment opportunities.
• $12.3 million for 2025-26 and a future $31.5 million in funding is provided to improve VET student completions and employment outcomes, including through increased places in literacy and numeracy programs at TAFE and pre-accredited digital literacy and employability skills training at Learn Local providers.
• $121 million across forward estimates to support the TAFE Network as Victoria’s trusted public provider of choice, including through student inclusion and wellbeing programs, training delivery in priority markets and regions, and a high-quality teaching workforce.

Families, Fairness and Housing
Child Protection and Family Services

• $198.4 million to manage and settle claims for compensation relating to abuse suffered by former wards of the State while in care.
• $77.3 million to support children and young people in care by:
• responding to the need for residential care placements to support children and young people.
• delivering vital training support for permanent carers.
• continuing case contracting capacity for children and young people in stable kinship care.
• maintenance of Secure Care residential facilities.
• $86.0 million to help Family Services divert clients from more intensive, acute and statutory child protection services through a range of early interventions with the aim of connecting, strengthening and restoring families.

Community Participation

• $12.7 million to people in need by increasing support for Regional Foodshares in Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Geelong, Mildura, Shepparton and Warrnambool, and the Regional Food Security Alliance.

Disability Programs and Services

• $24.1 million to maintain critical supports for people with disability, including:
• the Victorian Disability Advocacy Program.
• supporting Victorians with disability who are ineligible to receive services from the NDIS.
• autism assessment grants.
• delivery of an integrated child and family services response for the most vulnerable children with disability.
• building the capacity of mainstream services to support people with complex disability needs.
• $13.6 million to support the operation of the Disability Worker Regulation Scheme through the Victorian Disability Worker Commission and the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria. Funding is also provided to support the Worker Carer Exclusion Scheme to keep children and young people in out-of-home care safe by preventing certain workers and carers from working in the sector if their behaviour demonstrates an unjustifiable risk of harm.

Family Violence Service Delivery

• $27.3 million to maintain critical service capacity in family and gendered violence prevention and response by:
• Extending Victoria’s primary prevention leadership through Respect Victoria.
• Delivering prevention and early intervention work within multicultural and faith communities.
• Sustaining frontline family violence specialist support programs including specialist case management, Adolescent Family Violence in the Home, flexible support packages, family violence crisis brokerage for the statewide 24/7 crisis service and specialist support for children in refuges.
• Continuing intensive high-risk perpetrator interventions.
• $13.1 million to maintain support for victim survivors of sexual violence and harm through continued provision of:
• Sustaining frontline sexual assault support services to adults, children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse including flexible funding for victim survivors of sexual assault, and the statewide Sexual Assault Crisis Line with after-hours counselling services.
• Delivering Sexually Abusive Behaviour Treatment services for children and young people demonstrating harmful sexual behaviours.

Housing Assistance

• $20.4 million for the continuation of homelessness services to ensure homelessness is brief, rare, and non-recurring.

Youth

• $10.3 million to continue to support young people facing disadvantage and at risk of disengagement from the community. Initiatives include:
• Community Support Groups targeted at young people from diverse backgrounds in Melbourne’s north, west and south-east.
• The Le Mana Pasifika Project delivered by the Centre for Multicultural Youth to provide targeted support and deliver community programs.
• The Youth Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) wrap-around support for multicultural youth.
• Continuing the Regional Presence Project to deliver education and employment programs for young people in regional areas.

Government Services

Cost of Living

• 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.

Digital Services

• $37.5 million over three years towards the Digital Strategy and Transformation with an investment into Cyber Safe Victoria 2026+ and Open Data.
• $105 million over four years towards digital services – Service Victoria and websites.
• $125.2 million in 2025-26 to accelerate digital transformation for Government and implement the digital strategy and transformation.

Justice and Community Safety

Victims Support and Legal Aid

• $74.2 million and a further $70 million per year in funding is provided for the continued operations of the Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), which commenced in November 2024 replacing the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VoCAT).
• $12.9 million and a further $27.1 million in funding is provided to continue critical legal services and improve access to justice for vulnerable Victorians.
• $8.1 million and a further $30.2 million over the next three years provided to the Office of Public Prosecutions, Victoria Legal Aid, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Community Legal Centres and Djirra to support the operationalisation of the new Wyndham Law Courts.

Road Safety and Fines

• $6.7 million and a further $47.4 million across forward estimates is provided to maintain the delivery of Victoria’s road safety camera network and support ongoing enforcement and operational capability.
• $19.7 million and a further $107.4 million is provided to deliver the Road Safety Action Plan. Refer to the Department of Transport and Planning section for more information.
• $9.5 million and a further $41.5 million in funding is provided to ensure the continued delivery of fines administrative services, supporting the implementation and transition to the new fines IT system and improved efficiency.

Tobacco and Liquor Regulation

• $19.6 million and $34.8 million in further funding is provided to establish a modern tobacco and liquor regulator to support effective regulation in Victoria.

Community Safety and Corrections

• $278.1 million to increase corrections and youth justice custodial operational capacity to support new bail laws and community safety reforms as part of the Community Safety Package.
• $9.8 million and a further $9.6 million is provided to support the operation of the corrections system, reduce recidivism and enhance prisoners’ reintegration in the community.
• $43.4 million and a further $49.6 million is provided to support the operation of the Youth Justice system.

Further information 

For more information, please contact Hawker Britton’s Victorian Directors Andy Gargett on +61 427 552 980 and Emma Webster on +61 3 9034 3020.  

Further Hawker Britton Occasional Papers on the activities of the Victorian Government are available here.