ACT Budget: Return to surplus and sweeteners for first-home buyers

Chief Minister Andrew Barr says this year's ACT Budget aims to deliver more spending on services to cope with the demands of population growth.

More people are calling Canberra home, with the population expected to grow from 415,000 to half a million within the next decade.

HOUSING

The ACT Government plans to abolish stamp duty for eligible first-home buyers, ahead of eventually scrapping it altogether.

From July 1, 2019, those with a household income below $160,000 won’t have to pay stamp duty, for both established properties and new builds.

Those buyers will be spared an extra $9700 charge on a $450,000 property, or a $15,720 in stamp duty on a $600,000 home.

The catch is that First Home Owner Grants won't exist anymore.

This is a $7500 grant to first-home buyers purchasing new properties in the ACT.

While the government will release an extra 750 blocks of residential land, increasing its land release target to 17,000 dwellings over the next four years.

HEALTH

Healthcare is the biggest piece of the budget pie and a sector that has come under fire for struggling to meet the needs of the population.

There's a spend of more than $100 million on frontline services, beds and reducing surgical wait times at the Canberra Hospital.

Calvary Public Hospital has been allocated $15 million for improvements to the emergency department and mental health unit.

EDUCATION

The second-biggest spend in the budget goes to education.

There's funding for a new primary school for Molonglo and increased capacity for schools in the fastest growing district of Gungahlin.

RATES, FEES AND FINES

There will be a rate rise, as expected: an average increase of 7 percent for houses and 10 percent for units.

This means homeowners will pay an extra $172 on average and unit owners an extra $135 on average.

The fire and emergency services levy will increase by $42 in 2018-19.

Drivers' licence fees and motor vehicle registrations will go up by 5 percent. But around 40 percent of Canberra drivers who qualify for the "safe driver discount" will save money and that discount is rising from 25 to 30 percent.

Parking fees and fines will increase by 6 percent.

CANBERRA'S VENUES

There is funding set aside for a new Canberra Theatre Centre, which will determine whether to rebuild a bigger and better venue on site, or build a new theatre somewhere else in the city.

The Chief Minister says he expects a decision on the decades-old Canberra Stadium to be made in the early 2020s.

There's been a push for a new stadium in the city, but we won't be seeing that any time soon.

While plans to build a new convention centre have been put on ice, Mr Barr said the project has been "parked well into the next decade".

'BACK IN THE BLACK'

The Chief Minister is delivering a balanced budget for 2018-19, with a "modest" surplus of $36.5 million.

This trend is expected to continue across the forward estimates over the next four years to 2021-22.

Mr Barr said this will be used for further investment and chipping away at billions of dollars in debt, namely the Mr Fluffy asbestos scheme.