Tasmania’s 2025-26 state budget outlines significant investments in healthcare, community services, and infrastructure, aiming to improve the quality of life for residents. Additionally, the new budget provides money for long overdue and very essential capital projects. These are things like increasing capacity at the Hobart Women’s Shelter, redeveloping large hospitals, and funding measures for indigenous populations.
The federal government has announced funding for the Hobart Women’s Shelter, which will see the addition of five new units. This expansion is all about getting critical services and caregiving to underserved women who need it most. This language explicitly shows the government’s commitment to combatting domestic violence and homelessness.
Launceston General Hospital and Royal Hobart Hospital are in line for a $1 billion redevelopment windfall. Collectively, they will be awarded $25 million to improve healthcare delivery services. Launceston General Hospital is to get the lion’s share at $15 million, with Royal Hobart Hospital getting $10 million. These funds will provide greater medical infrastructure, patient treatment and broaden the services offered to Tasmanians.
The Tasmanian Institute of Sport has received $1.5 million over the next three years to establish talent identification programs. It’s why this investment is all about developing our future stars. It positively contributes to making sure Tasmania doesn’t lose its competitive advantage in elite sport.
The government is stepping in to address funding obstacles for a new stadium. They intend to sell off chunks of the former Macquarie Point precinct. This smart planning decision seeks to create new revenue that will be used to retire any debt incurred for the stadium project.
In Launceston Indigo Lodge will get $467,000 to help temporarily rehome residents while essential roof repairs are made. This funding highlights the government’s commitment to providing safe and secure housing for our community members while important renovations take place.
Aboriginal projects are a strong priority of the budget. Specifically, it reserves $1.4 million for the initiatives responsible for closing the disparity of health and social outcomes between Indigenous communities. This investment truly demonstrates the state government’s investment in creating equitable opportunities for all Tasmanians regardless of location.
An authority would get $1.5 million per year for four years to improve its data collection and management systems. This funding is meant to spur innovation and improve operational efficiency and service delivery throughout all sectors of the transportation industry.
The state government has ruled out consolidating TasRail, TT-Line and TasPorts. This decision keeps these important transportation utilities independent and protects their unique ability to operate. The purpose of this decision is to protect competition and subsequent quality of service delivery across all of Tasmania’s transport infrastructure.
Tasmania Pharmacists will get an expansion of their scope of practice with a $2.5 million dollars in new investment. This initiative is intended to help increase access to healthcare services in underserved communities. It is an important piece of legislation for empowering pharmacists to further extend their reach into patient care.
We plan to invest at least $2.5 million in demonstration projects for the provision of diagnostic breast screening. Through these initiatives, detection will happen earlier, and more women across Tasmania will benefit from better outcomes. This multi-year funding is a signal that we are, as a nation, committed to women’s health and to preventative care initiatives.
The budget allocates $7 million to support a new “legacy precinct” in Devonport. The use of this area would include the new Devonport indoor stadium development along with new community sporting facilities. This multi-dimensional initiative is focused on providing opportunities for both promoting active lifestyles and building community engagement through sport.
In addition to these initiatives, the government will invest more than $3.7 million in protective equipment for law enforcement and public safety. This investment covers additional hand-held metal detector wands and body-worn cameras to further strengthen safety and security measures across Tasmania.
This budget makes food relief programs a priority. Specifically, the plan allocates $6.7 million to sustain programs that address food insecurity in our community. These programs are incredibly important in making sure that those most vulnerable have appropriate access to healthy nutritional resources.
“We are committed to delivering better outcomes for all Tasmanians,” – The government
This budget is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to a multifaceted approach to addressing the varying needs of the Tasmanian community. By investing in healthcare, housing, sports facilities, and essential services, the government aims to create a supportive environment for all residents.
“Tasmania is becoming the number one place to do business and the start-up capital of the nation,” – The state government
