Update - What We Heard Report

The What We Heard Report for 2023-24 has been uploaded and can be found under '2023-34'.

Thank you to everyone who spent the time to send a submission.

2023-24 Budget context:

As we continue to manage the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the 2022-23 Budget was focussed on the investments needed to deliver services for all Canberrans both now and into the future.

While the consequences of the pandemic continue to be felt by many, there is much to be optimistic about, such as a strong labour market, the Territory’s growing population, world-leading vaccination rates, and our high quality of life.

Through the 2022-23 Budget, the ACT Government delivered high quality services to address cost of living pressures, continued to invest in Canberra’s people and places, and embedded a long-term plan for the delivery of services and infrastructure. These investments will improve our overall wellbeing and drive economic growth and jobs into the future.

As we develop the future budgets, the ACT Government will continue working with the community to make sure Canberra returns even stronger.

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.

We are looking at:

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

• 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:

You may wish to consider wellbeing as you take part in this engagement process.

The ACT Wellbeing Framework looks at 12 aspects of wellbeing – which we call ‘domains’ and includes 56 specific areas across the domains – which we call ‘indicators’. Our indicators show broadly how we are doing in each domain. Over time, indicator results will provide the basis for discussions between government and the community, and during during the development of the 2023-24 and future Budgets.

Through the ACT Wellbeing website, you can find out how we are going and other supporting resources, including the Wellbeing Impact Assessment template. This has been developed to better understand the impact of policies and proposals on the wellbeing of our people, institutions and environment.

Timeframes

Please bear in mind that the 2023-24 Budget will have several months’ lead-time in terms of its preparation, and the ACT Government will require sufficient time to adequately review and consider all submissions in accordance with the 2023-24 Budget delivery schedule.

Submissions that are received close to the 27 June 2023 Budget delivery date will have a limited timeframe in which to be considered, and may be left to future budget updates in terms of responding to matters raised.

While we do not provide a fixed deadline for receiving your input, submissions that are provided early in 2023 will stand the best chance of being considered for inclusion in the 2023‑24 Budget.

Please note that budget submissions are not a mechanism for organisations to request funding assistance, or for others to do so on their behalf. Organisations seeking funding opportunities are encouraged to consult the ACT Government Grants website.

We will use your views to:

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

If you provide permission for your budget consultation submission to be made public, it will be uploaded to the Budget Consultation website for other Canberrans to consider. Confidential items will still be reviewed by the ACT Government, but not published on this website. The ACT Government will not generally respond to individual survey responses or budget submissions but will consider input received in the development of future budgets.

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.