Is the 2025–26 Pre-Election Budget Bold Enough — or Just Treading Water?

As Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the 2025–26 Federal Budget with a steady voice and a surplus in the rear-view mirror, Australians were left wondering: Is this budget bold and visionary, or is it carefully calibrated political caution?

With an election looming, this pre-election budget delivers widespread cost-of-living relief, big-ticket spending on health, housing, and clean energy — and yes, more tax cuts — but the real question is whether it’s ambitious enough to meet the social and economic challenges ahead.

And how will Opposition Leader Angus Taylor respond, especially as his party moves toward presenting its pre-selected “alternative budget”?

Key Budget Priorities at a Glance

Before diving into ambition vs adequacy, let’s look at what the government is actually funding:

• Cost-of-Living Relief: New rounds of tax cuts (from July 2026 and again in 2027), additional $150 in energy rebates for households, and cheaper medicines.
• Healthcare & Medicare: $8.5 billion to expand bulk billing, with a target of 90% of GP visits being free by 2030.
• Housing Crisis Response: A $33 billion package including 1.2 million new homes over five years, expanded Help to Buy, and state bonuses to build faster.
• Education & Workforce: Free TAFE made permanent (100,000 places annually), student debt relief worth $19 billion, and new pathways into the health and construction sectors.
• Future Made in Australia: A $22.7 billion decade-long clean energy and manufacturing plan including green metals, renewable tech, and regional industry support.
• Women’s Budget Statement: A renewed and detailed focus on gender equity across health, employment, and economic participation — a standout commitment in this year’s budget.

A Step Forward: The Women’s Budget Statement

The Women’s Budget Statement reflects a more mature and integrated approach to budgeting, with a clear focus on women’s health, safety, and economic empowerment.

Highlights include:

• $792.9 million for women’s health, including contraception, menopause, and endometriosis support.

• PBS listings of medications long overlooked.

• State-funded specialist women’s health clinics.

• Formal recognition of unpaid care and gender pay gaps in economic modelling.

These are critical steps — and they offer a template for embedding equity into broader government procurement strategy frameworks.

What This Budget Means for Industry and Procurement

While this is a big-spending budget, the lack of explicit social and strategic procurement targets raises key questions for the public and private sectors alike.

🔍 Where the Spend Is Going:

• Clean Energy & Manufacturing: $22.7B to drive renewables, green tech, and regionally based manufacturing.

• Construction & Housing: $4.5B in new investment, MMC innovation funding, and support for apprenticeships.

• Skills & Education: Free TAFE, early childhood wage reform, and expanded training for high-demand sectors.

• Health & Aged Care: Aged care wage increases and expanded Medicare access.

• Infrastructure: $120B over 10 years — a critical lever for government procurement policy and local impact.

But the key omission? No clear framework to embed local industry development into procurement processes.

The Missed Opportunity in Government Procurement

This budget continues a trend: large capital commitments without sufficient attention to how public funds are spent — and who benefits. From a strategic procurement standpoint, here’s what’s missing:

❌ No social procurement benchmarks or impact reporting for public projects.

❌ No prioritisation of local industry participation in government contracts.

❌ Limited investment in social enterprise ecosystems or inclusive business models.

❌ Minimal focus on procurement innovation to drive long-term value.

To build a resilient economy, Australia must align its government procurement strategy with broader goals — including equity, sustainability, and economic participation.

What to Expect from the Opposition

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor is likely to criticise the budget as fiscally reckless, with alternative proposals focused on:

• Faster housing approvals and planning reform

• Energy reliability, possibly leaning into fossil fuel supply

• Small business support via deregulation

• Budget repair and debt management

It remains to be seen whether the Coalition will commit to a more inclusive and accountable government procurement approach — or continue to view procurement as a cost-saving exercise.

Strategy Over Spend

While the 2025–26 Budget includes welcome initiatives, it stops short of unlocking the full potential of procurement as a nation-building tool.

At Sedo Group, we believe that government procurement is not just about efficiency — it’s about legacy. It should serve as a platform for strengthening communities, growing local industry, and creating inclusive economic outcomes that endure well beyond the next election cycle.

This budget lays groundwork — but real transformation will depend on how Australia reforms its procurement strategy to reflect its values.

Let’s connect — and continue the conversation about building smarter, fairer systems through strategic and social procurement.