We are excited to see the diversity of the initiatives, which we will be working with our national counterparts to demystify in the months ahead.

Here are the headlines to pique your interest:

• New Impact Fund - $100 million over 5 years from 2024 to establish a Social Impact Outcomes Fund to tackle disadvantage by making contractual payments to states, territories and service providers based on delivering agreed, measurable outcomes, following a co-design process with stakeholders, including states and territories.
• Capability Strengthening for social enterprise - $11.6 million over 3 years from 2023 for a Social Enterprise Development Initiative to provide grants, online education and mentoring for social enterprises and 'for purpose' organisations such as charities to build their capability and access to capital and social finance.
• Addressing entrenched disadvantage - The Government has also placed a heavy emphasis on better understanding and addressing entrenched disadvantage:
  • Holistic strategy to drive community development - $7.8 million to develop a whole-of-government Framework to Address Community Disadvantage that will identify strategic objectives and key principles to guide how Canberra will work in partnership with communities to enable them to build their capability to address cycles of disadvantage.
  • Data to track systemic disadvantage - $16.4 million to the ABS to implement the Life Course Data Initiative to inform long term policy responses aimed at interrupting cycles of intergenerational disadvantage.
  • Raising the voice of the inclusive economy - $8.7 million to support the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee on an ongoing basis with secretariat and research support.
• National Autism Strategy - $27 million over 4 years to undertake additional pilots of early intervention and further progress the Federal Government's election commitment to deliver a National Autism Strategy. 
• Place-based strategies for systemic change include new programs:
  • $211.7 million to provide grants for community infrastructure in urban and suburban communities through a competitive grants program.
  • $159.7 million to support investment in place-based priorities of local urban communities through a collaborative partnerships approach with state, territory and local governments and communities.
• A range of green economy initiatives include:
  • Startup Industry Growth Grants (Big focus on green economy) - $392 million will support Australian SME's and startups to commercialise their ideas and grow their operations. Support will be targeted towards businesses operating in the priority areas of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund including renewables, low emissions tech, and value-add in agriculture.
  • Energy Upgrade Fund for households and small business -  $300 million to cut energy bills for tenants in 60,000 social housing properties by around one-third through funding energy performance upgrades, and provides a further $310 million in support through the Small Business Energy Incentive.
  • Green Bonds - $8.3 million over 4 years to develop and issue sovereign green bonds, $1.6 million to co-fund with the private sector the development of an Australian ‘sustainable finance taxonomy'
• ALSO: A new Partnership Priorities Sub-Committee of the Secretaries Board has been established to further embed partnership culture and behaviour in the APS, including place-based partnerships. The Sub-Committee is developing a Charter for Partnerships and Engagement to provide a clear statement about how the APS will work in partnership with communities and business to build public trust and drive public service culture and behaviour.
  

Read the full budget here