Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24

Baptist Care Australia has submitted our 2023-24 Pre-Budget Submission to Government, based on input from our members to provide a view that is representative of the Baptist service provider network and reflects the needs of those we serve.

This Budget is the primary platform of the Australian Government to enact its commitments to social equity and to supporting the most vulnerable members in our community. In the current context, where Australia's social and financial wellbeing is faltering under the strains of accumulated pressures - the ongoing impacts of COVID-19; natural disasters; international conflict; rapid rises in the cost of living; rising inflation; and weak wages growth - we see more people than ever experiencing financial and emotional distress.

We as a nation are facing growing inequality, with over 3.2 million Australians living in poverty and wealth inequality the worst it has been in seventy-five years.

Baptist Care Australia has highlighted the following key aspects of poverty and disadvantage that the Government could address in the upcoming Budget:

• Safe and affordable housing as essential infrastructure;
• Ensuring older people can access the care they need as they age;
• Ending family and domestic violence within a generation;
• Ensuring people can meet their basic needs on Government support payments;
• Responding to rising rates of food insecurity;
• Improving equality for First Nations peoples;
• Strengthening essential community services;
• Ensuring indexation mechanisms meets the costs of service provision; and
• Ensuring tax reforms do not erode services for the most vulnerable.