The 2021-22 Budget Consultation process has now closed

The Government would like to that those individuals, community groups and organisations that contributed to the 2021-22 Budget Consultation process.

Public submissions may be found on the Input Received page: https://www.budgetconsultation.act.gov.au/input-received

No further submissions will be uploaded to the Input Received page.

2021-22 Budget context:

[Please note: in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent revisions to the sitting schedule of the ACT Legislative Assembly, delivery of the 2021-22 Budget will be deferred until 6 October 2021]

It is just over a year since the Public Health (Emergency) Declaration 2020 (No 1) was enacted by the Territory’s Minister for Health, Ms Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, recognising the immediate public health risk posed by COVID-19.

What followed has become the greatest economic and health challenge to the ACT since self government. In response, we announced a series of economic survival support packages investing in health and essential services, keeping Canberrans employed, protecting households and families and supporting businesses.

Restrictions introduced both locally in the ACT and more widely to slow the spread of the pandemic resulted in rising unemployment and substantial reductions in economic activity – within weeks of the start of the pandemic in Australia, over 10,000 jobs were lost in the ACT.

As we look back, we have not emerged from the pandemic completely unscathed. At the time of writing, we have seen 123 confirmed cases in the Territory, and 3 deaths. Although we presently (1 April) have no active cases in the Territory, we encourage Canberrans to remain vigilant.

We are protecting our front-line workers and those most at risk - at the time of writing, over 10,000 COVID-19 vaccinations have now been administered by the ACT Government in the Territory (noting that the Commonwealth Government is running a separate program to vaccinate staff and residents in disability and aged residential care in the ACT).

Our support packages have impacted the public finances both in terms of reduced revenue collections and increased expenditures – accordingly, the return to a balanced budget will be a prolonged process.

Looking ahead, we acknowledge that the pandemic is by no means over, and development of the 2021-22 Budget will consider prevailing conditions as we continue our economic recovery and growth.

The Budget consultation process provides an important opportunity for the community to be involved in the budget process. Working together, we can ensure that limited resources are put to their most efficient use. Thank you for providing us with your ideas as to the services you or your organisation need, and those that you want the Barr government to deliver.

How you had YourSay:

From 1 April to 28 June 2021, the community and stakeholders were invited to make a written submissions or take a survey with their thoughts and ideas for the 2021‑22 ACT Budget.

If you provided permission for your submission or survey to be made public, it was uploaded to the Budget Consultation website for other Canberrans to consider. Confidential items were still reviewed by the ACT Government, but not published on this website.

We are looking at:

The Budget consultation process encompasses the ACT Government’s core areas of responsibility:

• Hospitals and healthcare (including our COVID-19 response)
• Local schools and education
• Public transport, roads and active travel
• Suburban and municipal services
• Community services and support for families
• Economic development.

Wellbeing indicators:

The ACT Wellbeing Framework looks at 12 aspects of wellbeing – which we call ‘domains’. The domains reflect the key factors the community told us impact on the quality of life of Canberrans.

Through the new ACT Wellbeing website, you can find out how we are doing in 56 specific areas across the domains – which we call ‘indicators’. Our indicators show broadly how we are doing in each domain.

The results over time will provide the basis for discussions between government and the community – including during the development of the 2021-22 Budget. You may wish to consider wellbeing as you take part in this engagement process.

We will use your views to:

Your ideas will help inform the development of 2021-22 Budget priorities and decisions about how funding is allocated.

Disclaimer:

Please note the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate retains the right to withhold input from publication if it believes that the content is defamatory, offensive, contravenes anti-discrimination or anti-vilification law or otherwise breaches any law.