Federal Budget 2018 Key Budget Areas

Regional Capitals Australia welcomed the initiatives within the Federal Budget 2018.
The following is a summary of 2018/19 key budget investment areas.

The new initiatives included in the 2018/19 Budget were:

  • Five rural and regional medical schools: as part of an $83 million Strong Rural Health Strategy, the schools will be created as part of the workforce incentive programme, with all schools to be based in the broader Murray Darling region; and
  • Regional Universities: $96 million allocated to support additional student places in regional universities and regional study hubs.
  • The Roads of Strategic Importance: support features $3.5 billion in funding for road and rail projects, including the Coffs Harbour bypass and the Geelong rail line duplication.

The continuation of funding has been allocated to the following initiatives:

  • The Building Better Regions Fund is to receive $200 million in funding for the third round of the program
  • The Smart Cities and Suburbs Program has been allocated $50 million.

The Regional Growth Funding of $272 million was also rolled over into the 18/19 financial year for round one projects.

A full breakdown of the Federal Budget 2018/19 can be found here in the RCA Federal Budget report, or you can view our full post-budget response before completing our Federal Budget survey.

Take our Federal Budget survey: