2026-27 Federal Budget – Strengthening the Foreign Resident CGT regime – transitional arrangements
Strengthening the Foreign Resident CGT Regime
As part of the 2026–27 Budget, the Government will amend tax laws to give a time-limited concession for foreign investors in renewable energy assets. This transitional arrangement applies to disposals from the first day of the next quarter after Royal Assent until 30 June 2030.
The measure also confirms that the definition of ‘real property’ in Australia is set by Commonwealth law, not state or territory laws, effective from 12 December 2006.
2026-27 Federal Budget – Global Anti‑Base Erosion Rules (Pillar Two) Side-by-Side Package Implementation
Implementing the OECD/G20 Side‑by‑Side Package
As part of the 2026–27 Federal Budget, the Government announced it will amend Australia’s global and domestic minimum tax laws, introduced in 2024, to implement the side‑by‑side package agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting on 5 January 2026.
The purpose of the side‑by‑side package is to ensure Australia’s global minimum tax rules align with those of other countries and to fulfil the Government’s commitment to the OECD/G20 effort to reform the international corporate tax system.
This measure is part of the Government’s ongoing multinational tax reform agenda, supporting a coordinated global minimum tax framework that ensures large multinational companies pay their fair share of tax.
2026-27 Federal Budget – Extending the ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings
As part of the 2026-27 Federal Budget, the Government announced it will extend the temporary ban on foreign purchases of existing homes by two years and three months, until 30 June 2029. The extension will give Australians more opportunities to purchase homes that might otherwise be bought by foreign buyers, while still encouraging investment in new housing.
The current limited exceptions to the ban will continue. General exemptions, such as for permanent residents and New Zealand citizens, will also still apply to purchases of existing homes.
Other measures:
2026-27 Federal Budget – Temporary reduction of fuel excise and heavy vehicle road user charge
Ahead of the 2026-27 Federal Budget, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on 2 April 2026 that the Government would temporarily cut fuel taxes for three months, starting 1 April 2026. This includes most fuel products and the road user charge for heavy vehicles.
Fuel excise rates have been reduced by 60.9%, which means petrol and diesel are 32 cents per litre cheaper. States and territories have agreed to provide up to $400 million so that part of the GST revenue can support the excise cut—about 5.7 cents per litre for petrol and diesel.
The road user charge for heavy vehicles has also been cut from 32.4 cents per litre to zero.
2026-27 Federal Budget – Protecting the tax system against fraud
The 2026–27 Budget provides $86.3 million over four years from 1 July 2026, and $9.7 million per year from 2030–31, for Phase 2 of the Counter Fraud Strategy to modernise fraud prevention and detection in tax and superannuation. The ATO will enhance real-time fraud detection, provide extra protections for individuals, expand monitoring of tax agents, businesses, and high-risk super changes, and pause or waive debts for victims of intermediary fraud while recovering them from the intermediaries. Powers to seize jointly held assets will be expanded, and targeted compliance activities, including on the R&D Tax Incentive, will continue for two years from 2026–27. The Government will also improve tax secrecy exceptions and regulators’ information-gathering powers to support compliance and effective tax administration.
2026-27 Federal Budget – Protecting investors and strengthening the superannuation system
As part of the 2026-27 Budget, the Government will offer $17.8 million over four years from 2026-27, and $1.4 million per year ongoing, to improve oversight and enforcement of managed investment schemes. This includes:
- $10.3 million for ASIC to better use data in supervising the sector.
- $7.6 million for ASIC, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and Treasury to strengthen governance rules.
- The government will also consult publicly on new data collection powers for managed investment schemes and on options to improve the superannuation performance test to keep it effective.
2026-27 Federal Budget – Supporting Philanthropy
As part of the 2026–27 Federal Budget, the Government announced that it will change the tax law to specifically list the following organisations as deductible gift recipients (DGRs) for gifts received after 30 June 2026 and before 1 July 2031:
- CEW Bean Foundation
- Council of First Nations Ltd
- Hakoah Club Ltd
- Jewish Education Foundation (Vic) Ltd
- Sydney Harbour Federation Trust
- Sydney Harbour Foundation Limited
- Virtual War Memorial Limited.
The Government has also named the Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) and Australian Jewish Funders (AJF) in a ministerial declaration. This allows them to apply to the ATO for DGR status as community charities and support the Jewish community following the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025.
In addition, the Government will remove the ministerial declaration step from the community charity DGR process, cutting red tape for eligible charities by simplifying the endorsement process.
2026-27 Federal Budget – Women’s Budget Statement
The Women’s Budget Statement
The Women’s Budget Statement reports on the Government’s progress and investments in implementing Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality, released on 7 March 2024. The 2026–27 Statement covers progress in five priority areas:
- gender-based violence
- unpaid and paid care
- economic equality and security
- health
- leadership, representation and decision-making.
Measures announced in the 2026–27 Budget include:
- $182.6 million over four years to address issues in the Child Support Scheme, improve assessment accuracy, and strengthen international arrangements.
- Legislative and systems changes to make child support more effective, including employer withholdings and departure prohibition orders.
- Protections against financial abuse through improved Director ID and ABN verification, and reduced public access to directors’ addresses.
- $61.2 million over four years to support 500 new frontline and community workers for victim-survivors of violence.
- $59.4 million over four years to help community housing providers support young people, particularly girls and young women.
- $11.7 million over six months to continue the Family Violence and Cross Examination of Parties Scheme.
- $16.6 million over two years for an Independent Inquiry into Military Sexual Violence in the Australian Defence Force.
- $27 million over two years to extend the Protecting Migrant Workers grants program.
- Investments in public hospitals, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, and free health care options.
- $2.7 million over four years to support midwives providing long-acting reversible contraception and subsidise cervical cancer treatment.
- Funding to expand digital and telephone support for maternal health and reduce stillbirths.
- $10.8 million over two years to improve health care access for culturally and linguistically diverse women.
- $277.5 million in 2026–27 to extend the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement and support the National Women’s Health Strategy.