QLD budget: $650 energy rebates, increased funding for women founders and small business mental health

Small businesses in Queensland will receive $650 energy bill rebates, thanks to a new $1.48 billion relief package at the heart of the sunshine state’s 2023-2024 budget.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick handed down the new state budget on Tuesday, promising cost-of-living relief to households and businesses facing runaway inflation.

Under the plan, the state government will supplement the federal government’s energy rebate funding with $1.1 billion from its own coffers to ensure every Queensland household receives a rebate of at least $550.

Small businesses with annual power consumption below 100,000-kilowatt hours will receive a $650 rebate, a measure expected to provide relief to approximately 205,000 enterprises across the state.

While the government touts its energy relief as its headline item, the budget also promises $6.8 million over three years for initiatives designed to bolster the mental health and wellness of small business owners.

That funding comes in the wake of October’s $8.7 million funding boost, which launched resiliency resources for small businesses and dedicated wellbeing coaches stationed in Cairns, Mackay, Townsville, Toowoomba, and North and South Brisbane.

The Queensland government will expand its funding for the Female Founders Co-Investment Fund pilot and the Accelerating Female Founders program, pumping $5 million into the initiatives over two years.

Some $4.6 million will go towards the Women in Trade Apprenticeships Mentoring Program, designed to support women pursuing work in the trades.

As businesses struggle to fill specialised roles, some $5.9 million will grow the Micro-Credentialing Pilot Program, boosting an initiative designed to upskill and reskill workers in priority areas.

Additionally, the budget provides $645 million over four years from 2023-2024 to provide 15 hours of free kindergarten per week for children under four.

Kicking off in January 2024, that initiative is expected to save the family of an average kindergarten attendee about $4,600 a year.

“This will not only reduce cost-of-living pressures for families but will also support labour market participation and improve educational outcomes,” budget papers note.

Combined, the state government sees these measures as a solution to lingering labour market difficulties.

“Over the medium term, increasing labour force flexibility, skills and participation, and other actions to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of the state’s businesses, will help reduce supply side constraints and dampen pressure on prices and cost of living,” the papers state.

With digital threats on the mind of business leaders across the country, the budget will allocate $5 million to cyber security support initiatives dedicated to small and medium enterprises.

The budget also pledges to support the establishment of the Queensland Indigenous Business Network, which the government says will provide support and advocacy for First Nations-led businesses.