Happy new year !
From today, a variety of changes come into effect which may impact Logan City locals – both good and bad!
And ofcourse, we are still hopeful of the pandemic easing this year, thanks to a vaccine which will be made available in Australia later this year.
THE GOOD NEWS:
Residents will enjoy a lump sum tax cut when the 2021 tax return is filed and it’ll be backdated to July 2020.
A range of welfare recipients, including pensioners and disability carers, who received a $250 cash payments in December, will get another $250 in March 2021.
Mental health and suicide prevention has been made a national priority, with $5.7 billion to be spent on mental health.
Those who suffer ovarian cancer, the costs associated with the drug Lynparza is being heavily discounted, thanks to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Instead of costing more than $140,000 per course, patients will now access the medicine at $6.60 per script for concession card holders. General patients will be out of pocked roughly $41.
University fees will be cheaper for students who undertake “Job Ready” courses, which will see teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, agriculture and engineering become cheaper, but humanities subjects will rise in price.
Insolvency laws will also change as of today, to help boost the survival rate of small businesses who’ve been slammed during Covid-19
THE DOWN SIDE
Those on JobKeeper will feel the burn when the economic stimulus, aimed to keep workers in jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic, will be cut on January 4, and will be terminated on March 28.
Those on JobSeeker will see the payments drop from today with the supplement now being offered at a rate of $150 a fortnight.
Your electricity bill is expected to rise, according to industry sources. The report goes against Canberra’s moves to significnatly reduce wholesale electricity prices, over the past 12 months.
