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Budget 2021 – What’s in it for Construction

An extension to the temporary asset expensing scheme is good news for potential machinery buyers from the 2021-22 Federal Budget.

New infrastructure spending and grants for first home buyers will also be good news for the civil construction sector.

Civil Contractors Federation National CEO Chris Melham had previously described the sector as being “central to the economic recovery” from COVID-19.

Among the budget’s highlights was the announcement that businesses will still be able to immediately write-off the cost of new machinery or equipment, with doubt around whether the popular scheme would be extended.

This scheme has already seen a boom in sales during Australia’s COVID-19 recovery and the Budget noted that “investment in machinery and equipment increased at the fastest quarterly rate in nearly seven years” as a result.

Any business with a turnover less than $5 billion can immediately deduct the cost of assets they will first use or install before June 30, 2023.

The government has also announced $110 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the next decade, including an additional $15.2 billion that has been committed and which is claimed will support more than 30,000 jobs.

On top of this, $1 billion will also be spent on each of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program and Road Safety Program, extending both to 2022-23.

An additional $2.7 billion has been spent to extend the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program, which pays businesses a 50 per cent wage subsidy over 12 months for new apprentices or trainees they take on, capped at $7,000 per quarter per person.

The Government says this program is expected to support more than 170,000 new apprentices and trainees.

The housing construction sector has also been looked after in the budget.

An extension of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme sits alongside 10,000 new places on the New Home Guarantee, which allows buyers to purchase a new home with a deposit as low as five per cent.

Ten thousand Family Home Guarantees were announced. This scheme allows single parents with dependent children to secure a property with just two per cent deposit and applies to new and existing homes.

HomeBuilder, which provides grants for owners to either build a new home or “substantially rebuild” an existing home has also been extended.

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