The Australian Labor Party won the 2025 Federal Election with a convincing majority on 3 May. This means Labor has another three years to continue its plans for supporting Australian enterprise, making life easier for small businesses and boosting the use of digital technologies.
Let’s look at the main policies that could have a positive impact for your small business.
1. Extension to the $20k instant asset write-off
Labor committed to extending, and potentially expanding, the $20k instant asset write-off scheme. This would allow your small businesses to immediately deduct the full value of eligible asset purchases, rather than depreciating them over time.
Making use of the instant asset write-off improves your cashflow position and acts as encouragement to invest in new equipment and infrastructure.
2. Tax incentive for employee training and development
Small businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million will be allowed an additional 20% tax deduction for external training courses for employees.
This tax incentive program is aimed specifically at employee training courses, certifications and professional development. This could help to reduce the financial burden of investing in training for your team, while also helping you tackle skills shortages in the business.
3. Energy relief and grants
To help reduce electricity costs, small businesses will receive energy relief until the end of 2025, providing a $150 reduction in energy bills this year. The Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) program will also provide $56.7 million in grants of up to $25,000 to over 2,400 businesses, funding a range of energy upgrades, such as replacing inefficient appliances and improving heating systems.
4. Investment in digital technologies
The Technology Investment Boost allows your eligible business to claim additional deductions for expenses like cybersecurity systems, cloud computing subscriptions and e-commerce platform development, potentially saving up to $20,000 per year.
Small businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million will be allowed an additional 20% tax deduction to support their digital transformation and digitise their operations.
Talk to us about making use of these government incentives
Whether you’re a brand new startup, or an established small business, now’s a good time to make use of these government initiatives and tax incentives.
Come and talk to us about your plans for 2025 and beyond, and how incentives like the instant asset write-off and Technology Investment Boost could help your growth strategy.