Fact sheet:
The Economic Recovery Plan for Australia

The 2020-21 Budget advances the Government’s plan for Australia’s economic recovery.

The first phase of the Government’s revised Economic and Fiscal Strategy is the COVID‑19 Economic Recovery Plan. It reflects the Government’s overarching objective to return Australians to work and boost prosperity as Australia emerges from the COVID‑19 crisis.

This fact sheet outlines the key measures from the COVID‑19 Economic Recovery Plan. This Budget provides $98 billion of response and recovery support under the COVID-19 Response Package and the JobMaker Plan, bringing the Government’s overall support to $507 billion, over half of which is direct economic support.

JobMaker Plan

This Budget provides $74 billion in measures under the JobMaker Plan to drive stronger economic recovery and drive down the unemployment rate.

The five-year JobMaker Plan focuses on driving sustainable, private sector led growth and job creation, recognising that a stronger economy will strengthen the budget and ensure Australia is well placed to respond to future shocks.

COVID-19 Response Package

This Budget includes $25 billion in additional temporary and targeted support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 Response Package continues to be tailored to each phase of the crisis. The Government has deployed temporary and targeted health and economic measures to support those in need, with additional support provided in this Budget.

2020-21 Budget - Summary of key policy measures(a)
  2020‑21
$m		 2021‑22
$m		 2022‑23
$m		 2023‑24
$m		 TOTAL
$m
JobMaker Plan
Supporting aggregate demand to create jobs
Temporary full expensing to support investment and jobs(b) 1,500 11,400 18,100 -4,300 26,700
Bringing forward the Personal Income Tax Plan and retaining the low and middle income tax offset 6,940 16,870 -5,730 -250 17,830
Infrastructure Investment - states and territories(c) 653 1,834 2,349 1,908 6,744
Temporary loss carry-back to support cash flow(d) 2 3,121 2,271 -540 4,854
Infrastructure Investment - road safety and upgrades 1,003 1,001 1 1 2,008
National Water Grid - investing in a long-term approach to water infrastructure 21 202 326 481 1,031
Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program - extension 500 500 - - 1,000
Driving jobs through housing(e) 1 - - .. 1
Subtotal - Supporting aggregate demand to create jobs 10,620 34,928 17,318 -2,699 60,167
Supporting Australians back into jobs
JobMaker Hiring Credit 850 2,900 250 - 4,000
Boosting apprenticeships wage subsidy 409 822 -9 -7 1,214
Higher education - additional support for students and education providers 178 227 172 326 904
Skills Reform Package 76 100 48 35 259
Second Women’s Economic Security Package 114 55 44 18 231
Subtotal - Supporting Australians back into jobs 1,628 4,103 505 372 6,607
Supporting business to create jobs
Research and Development Tax Incentive - supporting Australia’s economic recovery 310 450 590 650 2,000
Modern Manufacturing Strategy 79 454 587 389 1,510
Research Package 1,040 38 -89 78 1,067
Investment in new energy technologies 68 104 197 168 537
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - supporting essential scientific research 133 113 115 99 459
Digital Business Plan 191 168 14 3 377
Busting congestion for agricultural exporters - improving the ease of doing business 100 112 93 24 328
Securing Australia’s liquid fuel stocks 18 55 94 64 232
Deregulation Package 27 30 24 6 86
Gas-fired recovery 21 19 10 3 53
Simplified trade system 14 18 2 2 36
Global business and talent attraction taskforce 14 16 - - 30
Improving energy affordability and reliability 35 - - - 35
Accelerated Defence initiatives to support COVID-19 recovery(f) - - - - -
Expanding and diversifying trade(g) - - - - -
Supporting small business and responsible lending(h) - - .. .. ..
Subtotal - Supporting business to create jobs 2,049 1,577 1,638 1,485 6,750
TOTAL - JobMaker Plan measures 14,297 40,608 19,460 -842 73,524
COVID-19 Response Package
  2020‑21
$m		 2021‑22
$m		 2022‑23
$m		 2023‑24
$m		 TOTAL
$m
Economic response measures
JobKeeper Payment extension 15,600 - - - 15,600
Further economic support payments 2,512 43 3 - 2,558
Child care - Victorian recovery payments and other support measures 372 .. .. .. 373
Additional aviation support 227 34 35 33 330
Support to the Pacific and Timor-Leste 202 102 - - 305
Refunds and waivers of Visa Application Charges 35 90 120 30 275
Other economic response measures 232 54 9 .. 295
Subtotal - economic response measures 19,180 324 167 64 19,735
Health response measures
Access to COVID-19 vaccines and consumables 1,165 704 - - 1,870
Supporting our hospitals - continuation 1,103 - - - 1,103
Guaranteeing Medicare and access to medicines - extension 1,040 .. .. .. 1,040
Ageing and aged care(i) 697 1 2 - 700
Other health response measures 133 56 2 - 191
Subtotal - health response measures 4,139 761 4 .. 4,904
TOTAL - COVID-19 Response Package 23,319 1,085 171 64 24,639
Guaranteeing the essentials and other measures 3,789 4,681 2,725 2,047 13,242
TOTAL IMPACT OF DECISIONS SINCE THE JULY 2020 ECONOMIC AND FISCAL UPDATE 41,405 46,375 22,356 1,269 111,405

(a) No sign before an estimate indicates a negative impact on the underlying cash balance. A minus sign indicates a positive impact on the underlying cash balance. '..' denotes not zero, but rounded to zero. Figures are rounded to the nearest million, and totals may not sum due to rounding.               
(b) The financial impact of this measure is estimated to decrease receipts by $3.2 billion over the medium term.                         
(c) Sum of Infrastructure Investment — Australian Capital Territory; New South Wales; Northern Territory; Queensland; South Australia; Tasmania; Victoria; and Western Australia.                                                                         
(d) The financial impact of this measure is estimated to decrease receipts by $3.9 billion over the medium term.                         
(e) These measures have a fiscal balance impact of $15.8 million and raise the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation's cap on total guaranteed liabilities to $3 billion. The increased guarantee cap is reflected as a contingent liability on the Government’s balance sheet.
(f) This measure provides $1 billion over two years, met from within the existing resources of the Department of Defence.         
(g) This measure provides $6.6 million over the forward estimates, the costs of which will be met from within the existing resources of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.                                                                           
(h) This measure aims to reduce regulatory burden to ensure a timely flow of credit and lower-cost resolution for financially distressed small businesses.
(i) Refers to the measure on page 94 of Budget Paper No. 2, which is net of related receipts.          

Total recovery and response support since the onset of the pandemic(a)
  2019‑20
$m		 2020‑21
$m		 2021‑22
$m		 2022‑23
$m		 2023‑24
$m		 TOTAL
$m
The JobMaker Plan(a)
Total JobMaker Plan measures - 14,297 40,608 19,460 -842 73,524
COVID-19 Response Package(a)
Economic response measures
Included in July Statement 50,439 111,815 5,992 -528 -3,611 164,107
Included in 2020-21 Budget - 19,180 324 167 64 19,735
Total economic response measures 50,439 130,995 6,316 -361 -3,547 183,842
Health response measures
Included in July Statement 6,273 3,163 -13 -1 - 9,423
Included in 2020-21 Budget - 4,139 761 4 .. 4,904
Total health response measures 6,273 7,302 748 3 .. 14,327
TOTAL – COVID-19 Response Package 56,712 138,297 7,064 -358 -3,547 198,169
Key balance sheet support
Government support for immediate cash flow needs of SMEs (includes $90 million in concessional loans through the Arts and Entertainment Guarantee Scheme) Up to $20 billion
Australian Office of Financial Management – Structured Finance Support Fund Up to $15 billion
Reserve Bank of Australia – Term Funding Facility Up to $200 billion
TOTAL – Balance sheet support Up to $235 billion

(a) No sign before an estimate indicates a negative impact on the underlying cash balance. A minus sign indicates a positive impact on the underlying cash balance. '..' denotes not zero, but rounded to zero. Figures are rounded to the nearest million, and totals may not sum due to rounding.

Summary of support since the onset of the pandemic
  TOTAL
JobMaker Plan $74 billion
COVID-19 Response Package – economic measures $184 billion
Direct economic support $257 billion
  13 per cent of GDP
COVID-19 Response Package – health measures $14 billion
Direct economic and health support $272 billion
  13.7 per cent of GDP
Balance sheet support $235 billion
Overall support in the response and recovery $507 billion
  25.6 per cent of GDP