New England families may pocket $100 off their vehicle registration, share in nearly $3 billion of regional health investment, and benefit from drought and feral animal programs under the NSW Government’s 2026-27 budget, handed down by Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on Tuesday.
The pre-election budget, delivered today ahead of the March 2027 state election, combines immediate cost-of-living relief with major infrastructure commitments across health, education, roads, and emergency services. Mr Mookhey framed the package as a practical response to the daily pressures facing Australian families, with global conflict pushing up fuel costs and three Reserve Bank rate rises since February adding hundreds of dollars a year to mortgage repayments.
“People have been told by some during this time of great global uncertainty they are fated to be mere bystanders to great global events,” Mr Mookhey said.
“This is how we attack the cost-of-living crisis from every angle … this is what choosing our own fate looks like.”
Registration cut and transport relief
The centrepiece is a $561 million Transport Affordability Package. Its most direct benefit for the New England North West is a $100 reduction in private vehicle registration, applying to around 4.4 million eligible vehicles statewide, with motorcycles cut by $80. About 1.9 million of those eligible vehicles are in rural and regional areas, where reliance on private vehicles is highest and alternatives are fewest.
The reduction means a typical registration bill drops from around $475 to $375 for a standard car, and from approximately $944 to $844 for larger vehicles.
Toll administration fees will be scrapped from July, saving at least $10 per notice. While toll roads are rare in the New England North West, the change ends a charge that cost NSW motorists around $60 million last year.
Public transport fares will be frozen at 2025 rates for a further 12 months.
The government will also spend $2.6 million upgrading its FuelCheck app, which shows drivers fuel prices at petrol stations across the state, and will enforce accurate fuel price reporting more rigorously.
Workers in essential services
More than 120,000 NSW Government employees, including teachers, nurses, midwives, and police officers across regional communities, will receive a one-off $1,000 cost-of-living payment. The payment is triggered because Sydney’s consumer price index growth exceeded four per cent between the March quarters of 2025 and 2026.
In a separate commitment, nurses and midwives will receive the largest pay rise in more than 20 years, with increases of between 16 and 28 per cent over three years. The rise is backed by an additional $2.9 billion in this budget and affects regional hospitals directly.
Energy and household costs
Households will be able to access $557.1 million through the Home Energy Saver program, which offers interest-free loans of up to $15,000 alongside discounts to install energy-efficient appliances and technology such as solar panels and home batteries. The program is aimed at reducing ongoing power bills for low- to middle-income families. A further $7.2 million is targeted specifically at energy-efficiency upgrades in regional NSW.
Continued energy social programs cover short-term hardship payments, rebates for concession card holders, seniors, and families on Family Tax Benefit, and additional support for households relying on life-support equipment.
Eligible pensioners will continue to receive up to $250 off council rates and waste charges, as well as water bill rebates.
First home buyers continue to benefit from transfer duty exemptions averaging around $20,400 for purchases up to $800,000, with a concessional rate applying up to $1 million. A $10,000 First Home Owner Grant applies to eligible newly built homes, with around 30,000 more buyers expected to benefit in 2026-27.
Health: record investment with regional share
Health is the largest single commitment in the budget, with a combined state and federal investment of $10.3 billion in recurrent funding to recruit 9,000 more health workers and deliver around 2,900 more planned surgeries a year statewide.
Alongside it, a record $11.9 billion in health infrastructure will fund 32 new or upgraded hospitals and more than 2,500 beds. Of that total, nearly $3 billion is earmarked for regional hospitals and health facilities over four years.
Free parking continues at rural and regional public hospitals, and travel and accommodation assistance remains available for patients who must travel long distances for treatment not available in their local area. Up to six fully bulk-billed GP clinics across regional NSW are expected to open by mid-2027, administered through the Australian Government.
Assistive technology, free ambulance services for eligible concession card holders, and free dental care for children at participating schools through NSW Health’s Primary School Mobile Dental Clinics also continue.
Schools: $2.3 billion for the regions
The budget commits $9.2 billion over four years for new and upgraded schools statewide, of which $2.3 billion is directed to regional NSW.
Inverell Public School is among those listed for a co-located public early learning centre, alongside projects in Muswellbrook, Eden, Cessnock, Maitland, and several growth area communities. Deniliquin High School will receive a full rebuild.
Families with children aged three to five in community and mobile preschools can access up to $4,456 in fee relief, and up to $2,563 for children attending eligible long day care programs. The 3-Year-Old Fee Relief in long day care has been extended to the end of 2027.
Roads and disaster recovery
A $910.9 million investment will restore local and state roads and essential public assets damaged by natural disasters, following years of severe flooding across regional NSW, including through parts of the New England North West.
A separate $153.9 million Regional Development Trust will support locally driven projects and community priorities across the regions.
Emergency services
A landmark $470.1 million commitment over 10 years will transfer the state’s red fleet from councils to the NSW Rural Fire Service, delivering better-resourced emergency response for regional communities that carry a disproportionate share of fire risk.
Domestic and family violence services receive $184.1 million across six frontline programs, a 50 per cent increase phased in over four years. The government cited higher rates of domestic and family violence in rural and regional areas as a driver of the investment. Community workers in this sector will also receive a 4.75 per cent pay increase under a Fair Work Commission determination, alongside $2.2 million to coordinate regional youth crime services.
Farmers and pest control
The budget delivers drought support to farmers across NSW to address current dry conditions and to prepare for future droughts. A $16.3 million investment targets feral animal control programs, focusing on feral pigs and supporting priority regional pest management efforts.
Budget position
NSW is forecast to record a deficit of $2.3 billion in 2026-27 before returning to a $1.1 billion surplus in 2027-28, which Mr Mookhey described as the final deficit in a three-year return to fiscal balance.
“We have put the budget in a much stronger position by bringing spending growth under control,” Mr Mookhey said.
State economic growth is forecast to slow to one per cent in the new financial year, reflecting the impact of the Middle East conflict on energy prices and the effect of three rate rises on household budgets.
The government expects growth to recover to around two per cent over the following years, driven by investment in data centres and the renewable energy transition.
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