Budget 2022: 11 things startups need to know about the budget

The October 2022 budget has landed and Labor hasn’t been shy about lowering our expectations. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said repeatedly on Tuesday that the government has shown restraint this time around, and that’s certainly true when it comes to what startups can expect.

In fact, the term ‘startup’ only appeared a couple of times in the budget papers, and it was all pertaining to the same thing. We’ll get to that.

But even when it came to tangential cash injections that could affect the startup space in Australia, they were few and far between.

That isn’t to say there’s nothing to get excited about. The budget does deliver on some of the key wants from startup founders we spoke to this week, including with support for STEM careers. 

But the vast majority of measures that are directly related to Australian startups came out in pre-budget announcements. Plus, skills shortages continue to be a pain point.

Still, here are the most important takeaways we found in the October 2022 budget.

1. First up is the Startup Year Program we reported on a few weeks back. It proposes HELP-style loans for 2,000 eligible university students per year to work on early-stage business projects. Consultation is open until November 15, 2022.
2. But it’s not all good news for entrepreneurs. Labor’s spending audit has also resulted in $197.7 million being redirected from what it’s called “uncommitted funding” from the Entrepreneurs’ Program. The program recently came under review by the Australian National Audit Office, which called into question the rigour of how the program was managed. We’ll be looking into this more so much this space.

3. Next we have a small amount of support for women in STEM. Some $5.8 million over five years will go towards the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship program and to undertake an independent review of existing STEM programs. But on the flip side, $3.9 million over two years has been removed from the Supporting Women’s Mid-Career Transition into the Tech Workforce component of the 2022–23 March Budget measure titled Digital Economy Strategy.

4. The Paid Parental Leave Scheme will become more flexible from July 1, 2023. This will allow either parent to claim the payment if they meet the eligibility criteria. Parents will also be able to claim concurrently. And then from July 1, 2024, the scheme will be expanded by two additional weeks a year until it reaches 26 weeks from July 1, 2026.

5. $15 million will be going to mental health support and debt counselling services for small businesses. The NewAccess for Small Business Owners program, operated by BeyondBlue, partners business owners with specialised mental health professionals. It is free to use for callers. This was announced earlier in the week.

6. Another one for the pre-budget announcements column: the federal government is providing a $2.4 billion equity investment to NBN Co over four years. This is to provide fibre-ready access to a further 1.5 million premises by late 2025.
7. Here’s one for the battery lovers. The government will provide $99.8 million over three years for the Strategic Critical Minerals Development Program to support Australian critical minerals producers. A further $50.5 million will be offered over four years to establish the Australian Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub. This was first announced last week and we have a full report here.

8. Staying on energy, $62.6 million over three years will go to SMEs to fund energy efficient equipment upgrades. “The funding will support studies, planning, equipment and facility upgrade projects that will improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions or improve the management of power demand,” the budget papers states.

9. Crypto also got a small look in, with the government introducing legislation to clarify that digital currencies will continue to be excluded from the Australian income tax treatment of foreign currency. This means that digital currency will not be treated as fiat currency and will continue to receive the same capital gains tax treatment when held as an investment.

10. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources will get $13.5 million over four years years to “strengthen coordinated policy capability to identify, assess and support Australian development of critical and emerging technologies”. It’s quite vague and part of a broader budget push to support “talent and leadership in Australian science and technology”.

11. If you were keen to self-assess the life of your depreciating intangible assets, we have some bad news for you. Labor won’t be moving ahead with this. Instead, the effective lives of your intangible depreciating assets will be set by statute. The government has cited “integrity concerns” as well as an estimated $550 million price tag over for years for the reversal. Sorry, folks.