Remember Labor promised you $5 extra a week? 14 changes starting July 1, from tax cuts to price hikes

The end of a financial year isn’t just the time to cruise the stocktake sales, it also ushers in several substantial legal and financial changes, some of which you may notice right away in your pay packet. The Albanese government’s surprise election campaign tax cut will begin on Wednesday, July 1. It will benefit 12 million workers, who will take home an extra $268 a year, or about $5 a week.

The tax cut reduces the 16 per cent tax rate, which applies to income between $18,000 and $45,000, to 15 per cent. The rate will be cut again from July 2027, to 14 per cent. Workers will be able to instantly claim a $1000 tax deduction without needing to supply receipts.

Labor anticipates this will affect 6.2 million Australians, with an average tax saving of $205. But you won’t be able to choose the $1000 write-off until you put your return in from July 2027.

Parents will get an extra two weeks of paid parental leave, taking the total benefit to six months. Families will get $30,000 over the period they stay home to take care of their newborns. More parents will be eligible for the benefit, with the annual income limit rising to $186,487 for individuals and $386,525 for families.

The Family Tax Benefit payment will also increase, thanks to indexation. Millions of workers will get a pay rise from July 1 after the Fair Work Commission approved a 4.75 per cent increase to award wages.

Workers on the minimum wage will get a 6 per cent boost. The increase takes the minimum annual wage, based on a 38-hour working week, to above $50,000 a year for the first time. It will hit $1004.

90 a week, or $26.44 an hour, up from $948 a week and $24.95 an hour last year.

Households should start to feel relief from rising energy prices after the maximum price retailers can charge was lowered. The Australian Energy Regulator announced earlier this year it would reduce the maximum price on standard electricity plans, known as default market offers, from July 1. The move cut prices on the eastern seaboard by as much as 8 per cent, potentially wiping off hundreds of dollars a year for some customers.

Employers will be required to pay superannuation with each paycheck, rather than quarterly. The more frequent payments mean super has more time to accrue interest, so retirement savings grow faster, while also making it easier for employees and regulators to notice missing contributions. The threshold for concessional super contributions will also increase, from $30,000 to $32,500.

You might have already received a text about the new SMS sender ID register, designed to combat impersonator scams. From July 1, businesses must register a “sender ID” which will appear in texts to customers so they know it is from a reputable source. Texts from those that haven’t registered will be labelled “unverified”.

While not all unverified messages will be scams, consumers are urged to proceed with caution. Businesses can get their ID verified through their telco. The cost of sending a parcel around Australia will bump up by just under 5 per cent and any letter will cost another 15 cents, from $1.

70 to $1.85. Other creeping charges to watch for: motorway tolls in major cities will tick up in line with inflation, NBN prices will also rise slightly and registering a business with ASIC will also be marginally more expensive.

The big supermarkets will be barred from charging excessive prices on grocery items, though questions remain over how the ban will be enforced. The change was announced last year after Coles and Woolworths were accused of failing to pass on savings to consumers during a cost-of-living crisis. The competition watchdog launched an investigation, which revealed Australian supermarkets were among the most profitable in the world, though it did not prove the companies were price gouging.

The new federal watchdog was a centrepiece of the government’s environmental reforms late last year, delivering on an election pledge. The independent agency will bolster nature protections under a national environmental standard for the first time. The EPA’s responsibilities include education and compliance, issuing permits and licenses, and assessing projects and setting approval conditions under delegation from the environment minister.

The agency, recommended by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, will give veterans faster access to improved welfare and health payments, including assistance for funerals or travelling for treatment. The government announced late last year $78 million will fund the agency for the next four years, in the largest overhaul of the veteran entitlements system in 40 years. The commission will formally commence on July 1, with a goal of promoting and protecting the rights of First Nations children and young people.

The agency will provide advice to government on how to implement laws for the best outcomes for youth, and aims to enhance cooperation across levels of government. Sue-Anne Hunter is the inaugural commissi