The ACT budget papers are out. Here are the five key takeaways

ACT budget papers reveal rising rates and a delayed surplus, as health levy scrapped Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:00pm After weeks of build-up, the full details of the ACT's budget have been revealed. And after dealing Canberrans a tough set of cards in his first budget, Treasurer Chris Steel's second has far fewer surprises. Let's take a look at the key takeaways from the 2026-27 ACT budget. 1. Rates going up for most, but health levy gone It was the biggest takeaway from last year's budget — a controversial $250 health levy applied to all ratepayers. It was so controversial the government was forced to slash it to $100. Now, it's gone altogether. The government says it has been able to get rid of the levy after securing additional funding from the Commonwealth under the National Health Reform Agreement. While removing the levy has cushioned the blow for some ratepayers, the average rates bill increase for most households will be 5 per cent. And every suburb, except Macnamara, will see an increase in their general rates. For homes, the highest rate rise is 13 per cent in the inner-south suburbs of Forrest and Griffith. For units, the rate increase is highest in Ainslie, at 19 per cent. There's also a 16 per cent increase for units in Red Hill. 2. Housing a main feature It's clear housing is the government's key theme for this budget. In the morning before the budget was released, it was announced the ACT would become the first in the nation to abolish stamp duty for all first home buyers, regardless of income or home value. That's beginning in July this year and is part of a long-term ambition from the government to abolish the tax on all house sales. Pensioners, eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme participants, and all home buyers who have not owned property in the past five years will also be exempt from paying stamp duty. And owner-occupiers buying new apartments or townhouses won't have to pay the tax. Also among the suite of changes announced by the government today were measures aimed at increasing the number of homes in the "missing middle" — defined as housing types between multi-unit apartments and single detached dwellings. That includes a temporary halving of the lease variation charge, and a removal of stamp duty on all new unit-titled properties bought by owner-occupiers. Earlier in the week, the government also promised to deliver nearly 26,000 new homes across Canberra over the next five years. 3. Deficit up, and surplus getting further away The predicted budget deficit for 2026-27 is $323.4 million. And while that's down on the $501.7 million delivered in 2025-26, and well down on the $1.1 billion the year before, it's not down by nearly as much as forecast. The mid-year budget review in February (finalised before the war took hold in the Middle East) estimated a deficit of $79.7 million. So, that's $243.7 million worse off. And what about the long-promised return to surplus? Well, that's now blown out by a year, and isn't expected until 2028-29. 4. Delays to projects After weeks of broadly positive pre-budget announcements, a decision to put several infrastructure projects on the backburner to reduce budget pressure was the main negative. Other projects will be broken into stages. The government says the adjustments to the infrastructure program are aimed at prioritising projects already under construction, with a focus on health and housing supply projects. It's expected to save the government $700 million over four years. 5. Digital licences are coming… sometime The ACT is one of the last jurisdictions in the country to make a move towards digital driver's licences. But that's about change. Just over $1.7 million has been committed over two years to commence work towards a digital licence for Canberrans. This includes the planning, design, development and community based-user testing of a functional prototype based on the national strategy and international standards. But when might we see this completed? Not any time soon. But the government will outline a timeline later this year. Meanwhile, the government is also delaying the implementation of additional indexation to motor vehicle registration announced in last year's budget because of escalating fuel costs. That's now been put off until the 2027-28 budget. And it seems Canberrans aren't breaking the road rules as much as forecast, with millions of dollars in less revenue from traffic fines estimated to continue.