BUTLER’S BLITZ ON NDIS COST; EV TAX LOOMS

Butler flags major reforms to cut NDIS costs

Health Minister Mark Butler has announced major reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), in a bid to rein in ballooning costs of the $52 billion scheme. Mr Butler, who also serves as the NDIS Minister, told the National Press Club that a separate scheme would be established to cater for children with mild to moderate developmental delays or autism. He said the NDIS was originally intended to cater for around 410,000 people with disability, but it now supported just under 740,000 people and was projected to grow to one million participants by 2034, costing $105 billion a year. According to the Minister, 16 per cent of six-year-old boys were in the NDIS, while less than seven per cent of the 260,000 NDIS service providers were registered. He said the new program – Thriving Kids – would be funded by the Federal and State governments. The NDIS started in 2013; by 2022, the scheme’s costs were growing at 22 per cent a year, since pared to a growth rate of eight per cent.

Electric vehicles face new tax impost

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has foreshadowed the introduction of a road user charge for electric vehicles (EVs), in one of the more prominent outcomes of the Federal Government’s economic roundtable. Dr Chalmers said there was a “lot of reform appetite” and consensus among the states at the forum for EV road user charging.  State and Territory treasurers will meet with the Federal Government early next month to consider options on the substance, timing and sequence of a road user charge for electric vehicles. Under current arrangements, EVs do not bear the fuel excise tax, which raises funds for roads across Australia. For 2025-26, the Federal Budget has forecast that excise – presently imposed at around 51 cents per litre - would raise more than $7.4 billion for fuel, and for diesel, $17.8 billion.

Businesses spend up on R&D for software engineering, AI

Business in Australia spent more than $24 billion on research and experimental development in 2023-24, up 18 per cent on two years earlier, according to latest figures. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the professional, scientific and technical; manufacturing; and financial and insurance services sectors dominated the R&D spending. Businesses substantially increased their expenditure on software engineering, to $4.87 billion, and on artificial intelligence, leaping from $276 million in 2021-22 to $668 million in 2023-24. The ABS figures found that New South Wales and Victoria dominated business expenditure on research and development.

King spruiks ‘pricing certainty’ in critical minerals

Resources Minister Madeleine King has defended the Federal Government’s establishment of a critical minerals strategic reserve, saying it will help to de-risk projects and encourage private sector investment. Ms King said the reserve would provide price certainty for emerging critical minerals projects, with mechanisms for an appropriate price floor under active consideration. She said pricing certainty would mean companies and investors were less exposed to markets that were opaque and prone to manipulation. In a speech to industry in Western Australia, Ms King said Australia should take responsibility globally on rare earths, including in the processing sector. She said critical minerals and rare earths were essential inputs in modern technology, and in the defence industry. In addition, Ms King said gas exports were integral to regional energy security.

Regulator puts heat on electricity reliability targets

Australia’s energy market operator has warned that the delivery of on-time government-supported generation projects and transmission networks is critical to ongoing energy reliability. In its latest Electricity Statement of Opportunities report, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says reliability risks in the next five years will be primarily triggered by the retirement of large power stations. Over the shorter term, AEMO says Queensland and South Australia face reliability risks, with a more reliable outlook for New South Wales. While Victoria’s short-term reliability risks had eased, challenges were forecast through planned outages and in managing potential gas shortfalls. AEMO said an expected addition of 5-10 gigawatts per year in commissioned generation would aid reliability, provided new projects were delivered on time.

Emissions on track for 2030 goal, says Bowen

Meanwhile, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says Australia is tracking well to reduce its 2005-base emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. Mr Bowen said the March 2025 update of Australia’s national greenhouse gas inventory showed that emissions fell by 1.4 per cent in the year to March, or at 28 per cent below 2005 levels, en route to the targeted 43 per cent reduction by 2030, under the Paris Agreement. The Minister said renewable energy across Australia's two main grids reached more than 40 per cent of all energy produced last financial year, and emissions were falling from the national energy market. Transport emissions, however, continued their post-Covid rise.