The Allan Labor Government’s first Budget is dedicated to helping families in Northern Victoria.

Whether it’s helping with the cost of living, making sure our kids can be their best, record funding for our healthcare system or continuing to invest in more of the services families rely on – the Victorian Budget 2024/25 invests in our community.

With the current cost of living, covering supplies and extracurricular activities can be hard on families doing it tough. Uniforms, camps and excursions – it all adds up.

That’s why we are providing a one-off School Saving Bonus to help cover the costs. This $400 bonus will help make sure our kids have everything they need for the school day, supporting families with children at government schools and families at our non-government schools who need it most.

Dedicated to helping cover the cost of learning essentials and the extracurriculars that make school fun – we’ll work with schools to make it available for the start of the 2025 school year.

We’re also tripling our free Glasses for Kids program – making sure even more young Victorians can be their best in the classroom, and beyond. Having already helped 34,000 kids across our state – this investment will help 74,000 more, providing free vision screening and prescription glasses for students who need it.

And because we know that learning isn’t limited to the classroom, we’re investing $6 million to extend our Get Active Kids vouchers – providing up to $200 to help eligible families with the cost of sporting club registration, uniforms and equipment.

With this Budget, we’re investing more than $1.8 billion to continue building the Education State – and building a better future for Victoria’s children.

This year’s Budget invests $948 million to deliver the remaining 16 new schools – and deliver on our promise to Victorian families. That includes a brand-new primary school for Wodonga East. While the new Leneva Primary School on Frederic Street Road will support the needs of our growing community – and give every family confidence they can rely on a great local school. 

This Budget also invests in upgrading schools across our state, including three in Northern Victoria – Swan Hill North Primary, Eildon Primary, and Beechworth Secondary College. This investment will upgrade and modernise each of these schools – ensuring the world-class spaces kids and their hardworking teachers in Eastern Victoria deserve.

This Budget is also helping students in Northern Victoria find their passions. A $6 million investment in our Tech Schools will support immersive STEM camps for regional students, as well as the delivery of Tech School programs through remote and flexible learning.

This Budget provides $185 million to bolster our state’s bushfire prevention and response, including boosting specialist aerial capabilities for built-up areas to support our firefighters on the front line. Locally, this investment includes a new CFA pumper for local firies and volunteers, helping keep our community safe.

In recent months, Victorians have already experienced the cruel impacts of fires, floods and storms. In this Budget, we are continuing our support for those Victorians that have been affected by these catastrophic weather events, with $301.5 million to help them rebuild and recover. 

This includes repairs to schools, roads, and other infrastructure, as well as temporary accommodation, relief payments and mental health support for residents who need help. 

Sport is so important to families across Northern Victoria. It’s why this Budget delivers up to $250,000 for lighting upgrades at Tatura Park, and a further $350,000 for a new synthetic green for the Myrtelford Bowls Club.

Further supporting local sporting clubs, this Budget invests $120,000 to upgrade netball facilities at the Alan Garden Reserve in Swan Hill, and $300,000 for a new pump track at the Benalla BMX Track. Statewide, this Budget invests a further $300,000 into the continued delivery of Basketball Victoria’s High-Performance Hubs – including in Shepparton.

Community legal services do an incredible job, making sure Victorians can access the legal support they need. We’re supporting this important work with $28.8 million for community legal centres and specialist legal services – including the Loddon Campaspe and Goulburn Valley ARC Justice Community Legal Centres, and the Hume Riverina Community Legal Centre.

Increased cost of living pressure means more Victorians are relying on food relief organisations to feed their families. This Budget delivers an extra $1.5 million to support the work of our six regional food relief hubs – including in Shepparton.

A further $2.15 million will support joint land management of the Barmah National Park in partnership with Yorta Yorta people, making sure Victoria’s First Peoples are at the forefront of preserving Victoria’s natural environment.

We know how important our frontline healthcare services are for patients and their families. Since we came to government, Victoria’s public hospitals now employ over 5,000 more doctors, and over 13,000 more nurses. During the pandemic, when our health system was stretched like never before, we acted decisively – providing record funding to bolster our health system.

Since the pandemic, the cost of running our health system has continued to increase – but every cent is worth it to keep Victorians healthy. That’s why we’re making the biggest multi-year investment in our health system in Victoria’s history. It’ll mean our hospitals have the long-term certainty they need over the coming years.

Each investment is an investment in the people of Northern Victoria.

Because this is a Budget – and a Government – dedicated to helping families.

Quotes attributable to Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes

“With its first Budget, the Allan Labor Government is focused on helping families in Northern Victoria, delivering the projects and services our community deserves.”

“From the $400 School Saving Bonus to free vision tests and glasses for kids who need them, this Budget provides real cost of living support for local families.”