Budget 2020: $220m dedicated to family law and family relationship services
The Morrison government has delivered its 2020-21 budget, with significant funding going towards family law and family relationship services across Australia.
This year’s budget, which was released on Tuesday, 6 October, seeks to continue to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on as part of its Economic Recovery Plan.
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As part of this, the government announced it will provide $220 million to support the delivery of critical frontline services for families.
“This includes $133 million towards family and child support programs and $87.3 million towards Family Law and Family Relationship Services,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
“Building on previous commitments to keep women and children safe and ensuring access to justice, we will provide the Family and Federal Circuit Courts with an additional $10.2 million to manage the impacts of COVID-19.
“The Morrison Government is continuing to guarantee our essential services at a time when Australians need them most.”
Other services set to benefit include the health sector, with the budget delivering what’s being dubbed “record funding” for health, stretching a total of $93.8 billion in 2020-21, marking an increase of almost 43 per cent since 2014-15.
“The Government is committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians, and has invested $5.7 billion in 2020-21, including funding for critical front line services and suicide prevention,” Mr Frydenberg added.
Meanwhile, aged care is set to receive an additional $1.6 billion for an additional 23,000 home care packages across all package levels.
“The number of home care packages will have increased three-fold from around 60,300 in 2013 to around 185,500 in 2021,” the Treasurer said.
“We are committed to delivering quality residential care with a further $11.3 million for training and support for aged care providers and carers of people experiencing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.”
More to come.