Who are the winners and losers in Victoria's 2025 state budget?
The budget has been described as "responsible" by the treasurer, and promises a $600 million surplus for the first time since the pandemic.
The government is still grappling with rising debt, and plans to axe thousands of public service jobs.
While the list of winners looks long, with the exception of health, many of the investments are expanding on existing programs or are relatively small initiatives.
So, who are the winners and losers?
Winner: Health
This year's budget features an $11.1 billion investment in Victoria's healthcare system.
The government says that's "almost a third of this year's expenditure".
It includes $634 million for new hospitals across Frankston, Footscray, Craigieburn, Cranbourne and Phillip Island.
The roles of pharmacists will also expand in a bid to help Victorians avoid costly GP appointments. They'll be able to treat more conditions and consultations will be free. Winner: Families
With a focus on cost of living, families are among the big winners of this year's budget.
Families with young children will save around $2,600 per child with free kinder offered for every three and four year old.
It's an extension of the already existing Free Kinder program. Winner: Public transport users
Victorians under the age of 18 will be offered free public transport anywhere in the state, throughout the entire year.
That's expected to save families upwards of $700 per child each year.
The government is also expanding its free public transport program for seniors on weekends. Loser: Taxpayers
Net debt is forecast to grow to a record $194 billion in three years' time, up from $167.6 billion this year.
The government says it's not introducing any new taxes in this latest budget but last week a new emergency services levy passed through parliament which is expected to bring in $600 million.
The controversial levy will be charged alongside council rates and will raise funds for fire services, the State Emergency Service, triple-0 and the State Control Centre.
Victoria will pay $7.6 billion in interest in 2025-26 which is set to grow to more than $10 billion in three years. Loser: Public servants
The government has flagged thousands of public servant jobs will be cut as it looks to save $3.3 billion.
The exact number of jobs to go and which ones they will be have not been identified.
Instead, the government says it will wait for the Silver review — a report looking into the public service sector which is due to be handed down by the end of next month. No change: Infrastructure
Two major projects are expected to be complete this year. Those are the West Gate Tunnel and the Metro Tunnel projects.
But infrastructure projects across the board have blown out by $3.3 billion.
That includes a previously reported blowout of $827 million for the Metro Tunnel project.
According to analysis, 518 budget-funded projects show a 1.9 per cent increase in costs since last year's budget. Winner: Community safety
The government says it's focusing on community safety, investing $1.6 billion in crime prevention.
Of that, $727 million will go towards implementing the state's bail reform measures, while $176 million will be put aside to expand rehabilitation and support services to reduce reoffending.
With pressure mounting on the government to provide more support to Victoria Police, it's investing $92 million in police recruitment. Winner: Home owners
The government is committed to building 800,000 new homes by 2034.
Last year the government announced a temporary slashing of stamp duty for new apartments, units and townhouses, when they are purchased off-the-plan.
That concession will be expanded for an additional year until October 2026.
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WHAT WAS THE YOORROOK JUSTICE COMMISSION? * Victoria's Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry, the first of its kind in Australia * Led by five commissioners, of whom four are Aboriginal * Established with royal commission powers * Independent of the Victorian government and the elected First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, the body tasked with leading statewide treaty talks * Yoo-rrook means "truth" in the Wemba Wemba/Wamba Wamba language WHAT WAS ITS PURPOSE? * Create an official record of the impact of colonisation on Indigenous people in Victoria * Support the treaty-making process, including through recommendations for reform HOW DID IT COME ABOUT? * The Victorian Labor government committed to a truth and justice process in July 2020 * The commission and its mandate was unveiled in March 2021 * It officially launched in March 2022 following COVID-19 lockdown-related delays * The government granted a 12-month extension for its work to the end of June 2025 WHO APPEARED AT YOORROOK? * Public hearings began in April 2022 and lasted 67 days in total * Aboriginal elders such as Uncle Jack Charles, Uncle Johnny Lovett, Aunty Alma Thorpe and Aunty Eva Jo Edwards were among more than 200 witnesses * Premier Jacinta Allan and other government ministers also gave evidence * Then Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton apologised for police treatment of Indigenous people * The commission also received more than 1300 submissions and 10,000 documents from the state WHAT ARE ITS FINAL REPORTS? * Yoorrook for Transformation - Yoorrook's third and final report containing 100 recommendations over five volumes * Yoorrook Truth Be Told - a official public record that includes a detailed account of the history of Victoria since the start of colonisation and story of the commission WHAT ARE ITS KEY FINAL RECCOMENDATIONS? * The government must fund the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria to set up a permanent truth-telling group to keep collecting stories and build a public record * Decision-making powers, authority, control and resources must be transferred to First Peoples to give full effect to self-determination * The government must shift prison healthcare from the Department of Justice to the Department of Health * The government must provide redress for injustices caused by the colonial invasion and occupation of First Peoples' lands, as well as damage and loss WERE THERE ANY CONTROVERSIES? * Three commissioners quit within the space of six months in 2022, and another resigned in 2023 * Commission chair Eleanor Bourke slammed the government in 2023 for delays in producing documents * Only four of Yoorrook's 46 recommendations from an interim report on Victoria's child protection and criminal justice systems were accepted by the government in full. 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An internal rift has overshadowed the landmark release of final reports from Australia's first Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry. The Yoorrook Justice Commission's final reports were tabled in Victorian parliament on Tuesday afternoon, in a potential watershed moment for improving Aboriginal people's lives across the state. The documents include a final report with 100 recommendations across five volumes and an official public record of Victoria's history since colonisation. The official public record features a disclaimer that three of the five commissioners - adjunct professor Sue-Anne Hunter, distinguished professor Maggie Walter and former Federal Court judge Anthony North - "did not approve of the inclusion of the key findings in the final report". "Yoorrook's key findings draw from the conclusions presented in the commission's existing reports," the 454-page document reads. "But (they) are limited in number in order to highlight the key events in Victoria's colonial history that underpin the systemic injustice facing First Peoples in Victoria today." The disunity is a blow to the official public record, which has been discussed as a possible teaching resource in state schools as part of ongoing treaty negotiations. None of the trio participated in deputy chair Travis Lovett's "Walk for Truth", a 500km journey from Portland in the state's west to the steps of parliament house that wrapped up on June 18. Some of the public record's key findings are: * Land now known as Victoria was not "discovered" by the British Crown or "founded" by settlers * The sovereignty of Victoria's First Peoples was never ceded and continues to exist * The initial occupation was illegal, rapid and largely uncontrolled * The taking of Country and resources was violent * Laws and policies of the British and colonial governments were used to authorise the confiscation, theft, use and damage of lands and waters * None of the wealth generated from the land and waters of First Peoples since colonisation has been directly shared with Traditional Owners * Colonisation is not only a historic event and continues to affect First Peoples in Victoria to this day * First Peoples in Victoria have a fundamental right to self-determination * Treaty is the best pathway to self-determination and must include redress for the harms suffered as a result of colonisation * Restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and a guarantee of non-repetition are options for redress Commission chair Eleanor Bourke, who worked in the public service and education sectors for decades, said she had lived through many of the policies described in the pages. "I know that change cannot be guaranteed," she wrote in her foreword. "However, First Peoples in Victoria now know that the truth of our history and our stories are on the public record." Yoorrook, which was given the powers of a royal commission when it was established in 2021, handed its final reports to Governor Margaret Gardner on June 25. The commission held 67 days of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates. Its 148 recommendations will inform treaty talks between the Victorian government and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria. Premier Jacinta Allan said the government would carefully consider the final findings and recommendations. "Victoria's truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried - these are stories that all Victorians need to hear," she said. Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg said the suggested reforms laid out a bold path to create a better future for Aboriginal people. "Truth and treaty go hand-in-hand," the Gunditjmara man said. "Victorians know that we can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results." A statewide treaty agreement that includes making the assembly a permanent Indigenous voice to state parliament is nearing competition. Treaty legislation is expected to be introduced to Victorian parliament later in 2025. The state Labor government needs the support of up to six upper house crossbenchers for the bill to pass, with the coalition opposed to a treaty and state-based voice to parliament. An internal rift has overshadowed the landmark release of final reports from Australia's first Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry. The Yoorrook Justice Commission's final reports were tabled in Victorian parliament on Tuesday afternoon, in a potential watershed moment for improving Aboriginal people's lives across the state. The documents include a final report with 100 recommendations across five volumes and an official public record of Victoria's history since colonisation. The official public record features a disclaimer that three of the five commissioners - adjunct professor Sue-Anne Hunter, distinguished professor Maggie Walter and former Federal Court judge Anthony North - "did not approve of the inclusion of the key findings in the final report". "Yoorrook's key findings draw from the conclusions presented in the commission's existing reports," the 454-page document reads. "But (they) are limited in number in order to highlight the key events in Victoria's colonial history that underpin the systemic injustice facing First Peoples in Victoria today." The disunity is a blow to the official public record, which has been discussed as a possible teaching resource in state schools as part of ongoing treaty negotiations. None of the trio participated in deputy chair Travis Lovett's "Walk for Truth", a 500km journey from Portland in the state's west to the steps of parliament house that wrapped up on June 18. Some of the public record's key findings are: * Land now known as Victoria was not "discovered" by the British Crown or "founded" by settlers * The sovereignty of Victoria's First Peoples was never ceded and continues to exist * The initial occupation was illegal, rapid and largely uncontrolled * The taking of Country and resources was violent * Laws and policies of the British and colonial governments were used to authorise the confiscation, theft, use and damage of lands and waters * None of the wealth generated from the land and waters of First Peoples since colonisation has been directly shared with Traditional Owners * Colonisation is not only a historic event and continues to affect First Peoples in Victoria to this day * First Peoples in Victoria have a fundamental right to self-determination * Treaty is the best pathway to self-determination and must include redress for the harms suffered as a result of colonisation * Restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and a guarantee of non-repetition are options for redress Commission chair Eleanor Bourke, who worked in the public service and education sectors for decades, said she had lived through many of the policies described in the pages. "I know that change cannot be guaranteed," she wrote in her foreword. "However, First Peoples in Victoria now know that the truth of our history and our stories are on the public record." Yoorrook, which was given the powers of a royal commission when it was established in 2021, handed its final reports to Governor Margaret Gardner on June 25. The commission held 67 days of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates. Its 148 recommendations will inform treaty talks between the Victorian government and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria. Premier Jacinta Allan said the government would carefully consider the final findings and recommendations. "Victoria's truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried - these are stories that all Victorians need to hear," she said. Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg said the suggested reforms laid out a bold path to create a better future for Aboriginal people. "Truth and treaty go hand-in-hand," the Gunditjmara man said. "Victorians know that we can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results." A statewide treaty agreement that includes making the assembly a permanent Indigenous voice to state parliament is nearing competition. Treaty legislation is expected to be introduced to Victorian parliament later in 2025. The state Labor government needs the support of up to six upper house crossbenchers for the bill to pass, with the coalition opposed to a treaty and state-based voice to parliament. An internal rift has overshadowed the landmark release of final reports from Australia's first Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry. The Yoorrook Justice Commission's final reports were tabled in Victorian parliament on Tuesday afternoon, in a potential watershed moment for improving Aboriginal people's lives across the state. The documents include a final report with 100 recommendations across five volumes and an official public record of Victoria's history since colonisation. The official public record features a disclaimer that three of the five commissioners - adjunct professor Sue-Anne Hunter, distinguished professor Maggie Walter and former Federal Court judge Anthony North - "did not approve of the inclusion of the key findings in the final report". "Yoorrook's key findings draw from the conclusions presented in the commission's existing reports," the 454-page document reads. "But (they) are limited in number in order to highlight the key events in Victoria's colonial history that underpin the systemic injustice facing First Peoples in Victoria today." The disunity is a blow to the official public record, which has been discussed as a possible teaching resource in state schools as part of ongoing treaty negotiations. None of the trio participated in deputy chair Travis Lovett's "Walk for Truth", a 500km journey from Portland in the state's west to the steps of parliament house that wrapped up on June 18. Some of the public record's key findings are: * Land now known as Victoria was not "discovered" by the British Crown or "founded" by settlers * The sovereignty of Victoria's First Peoples was never ceded and continues to exist * The initial occupation was illegal, rapid and largely uncontrolled * The taking of Country and resources was violent * Laws and policies of the British and colonial governments were used to authorise the confiscation, theft, use and damage of lands and waters * None of the wealth generated from the land and waters of First Peoples since colonisation has been directly shared with Traditional Owners * Colonisation is not only a historic event and continues to affect First Peoples in Victoria to this day * First Peoples in Victoria have a fundamental right to self-determination * Treaty is the best pathway to self-determination and must include redress for the harms suffered as a result of colonisation * Restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and a guarantee of non-repetition are options for redress Commission chair Eleanor Bourke, who worked in the public service and education sectors for decades, said she had lived through many of the policies described in the pages. "I know that change cannot be guaranteed," she wrote in her foreword. "However, First Peoples in Victoria now know that the truth of our history and our stories are on the public record." Yoorrook, which was given the powers of a royal commission when it was established in 2021, handed its final reports to Governor Margaret Gardner on June 25. The commission held 67 days of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates. Its 148 recommendations will inform treaty talks between the Victorian government and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria. Premier Jacinta Allan said the government would carefully consider the final findings and recommendations. "Victoria's truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried - these are stories that all Victorians need to hear," she said. Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg said the suggested reforms laid out a bold path to create a better future for Aboriginal people. "Truth and treaty go hand-in-hand," the Gunditjmara man said. "Victorians know that we can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results." A statewide treaty agreement that includes making the assembly a permanent Indigenous voice to state parliament is nearing competition. Treaty legislation is expected to be introduced to Victorian parliament later in 2025. The state Labor government needs the support of up to six upper house crossbenchers for the bill to pass, with the coalition opposed to a treaty and state-based voice to parliament. An internal rift has overshadowed the landmark release of final reports from Australia's first Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry. The Yoorrook Justice Commission's final reports were tabled in Victorian parliament on Tuesday afternoon, in a potential watershed moment for improving Aboriginal people's lives across the state. The documents include a final report with 100 recommendations across five volumes and an official public record of Victoria's history since colonisation. The official public record features a disclaimer that three of the five commissioners - adjunct professor Sue-Anne Hunter, distinguished professor Maggie Walter and former Federal Court judge Anthony North - "did not approve of the inclusion of the key findings in the final report". "Yoorrook's key findings draw from the conclusions presented in the commission's existing reports," the 454-page document reads. "But (they) are limited in number in order to highlight the key events in Victoria's colonial history that underpin the systemic injustice facing First Peoples in Victoria today." The disunity is a blow to the official public record, which has been discussed as a possible teaching resource in state schools as part of ongoing treaty negotiations. None of the trio participated in deputy chair Travis Lovett's "Walk for Truth", a 500km journey from Portland in the state's west to the steps of parliament house that wrapped up on June 18. Some of the public record's key findings are: * Land now known as Victoria was not "discovered" by the British Crown or "founded" by settlers * The sovereignty of Victoria's First Peoples was never ceded and continues to exist * The initial occupation was illegal, rapid and largely uncontrolled * The taking of Country and resources was violent * Laws and policies of the British and colonial governments were used to authorise the confiscation, theft, use and damage of lands and waters * None of the wealth generated from the land and waters of First Peoples since colonisation has been directly shared with Traditional Owners * Colonisation is not only a historic event and continues to affect First Peoples in Victoria to this day * First Peoples in Victoria have a fundamental right to self-determination * Treaty is the best pathway to self-determination and must include redress for the harms suffered as a result of colonisation * Restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and a guarantee of non-repetition are options for redress Commission chair Eleanor Bourke, who worked in the public service and education sectors for decades, said she had lived through many of the policies described in the pages. "I know that change cannot be guaranteed," she wrote in her foreword. "However, First Peoples in Victoria now know that the truth of our history and our stories are on the public record." Yoorrook, which was given the powers of a royal commission when it was established in 2021, handed its final reports to Governor Margaret Gardner on June 25. The commission held 67 days of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates. Its 148 recommendations will inform treaty talks between the Victorian government and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria. Premier Jacinta Allan said the government would carefully consider the final findings and recommendations. "Victoria's truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried - these are stories that all Victorians need to hear," she said. Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg said the suggested reforms laid out a bold path to create a better future for Aboriginal people. "Truth and treaty go hand-in-hand," the Gunditjmara man said. "Victorians know that we can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results." A statewide treaty agreement that includes making the assembly a permanent Indigenous voice to state parliament is nearing competition. Treaty legislation is expected to be introduced to Victorian parliament later in 2025. The state Labor government needs the support of up to six upper house crossbenchers for the bill to pass, with the coalition opposed to a treaty and state-based voice to parliament.
