Get ready for a new year of savings

 

GET READY FOR A NEW YEAR OF SAVINGS

 

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has urged people to ring in the New Year by taking advantage of a suite of new savings.

 

Mr Perrottet today said the arrival of the New Year meant new rebates and initiatives would soon be available to help ease cost of living pressures for people across the State, thanks to years of strong financial management.

 

January 1, 2019 will see the arrival of the NSW Government's Baby Bundle and the roll-out of the $100 Creative Kids voucher to name just a few.

 

Treasurer Perrottet said there were New Year savings to be had across the board and encouraged people to take advantage of new and existing cost of living measures. 

 

"On the top of everyone's New Year's resolution list is the goal to save more money. As ever our top goal is to reduce the financial burden even further for the people of NSW and these measures are doing just that," Mr Perrottet said.

 

Other New Year measures providing hip-pocket relief include:

 

• Extending universal education access to preschool for three-year-olds, making NSW the first state in Australia to do so, providing an average saving for families of $825 a year from 1 January 2019.

 

• From 31 January, 2019 motorists will be given a 10-minute grace period when they pay for a minimum of one hour of parking, applies to ticketed and coupon parking. To avoid impacts on safety and congestion, the grace period will not apply to areas such as bus lanes, clearways, transit lanes, etc.

 

• From 1 March 2019 Councils and Universities across the NSW will have the flexibility to lower their most common parking fines from $112 to $80.

 

• The NSW Government's introduction of 10 days of paid domestic and family violence leave per year for NSW public sector employees, including teachers, nurses and police from 1 January 2019.

 

• From January 1, 2019 parents and caregivers in NSW will receive a bag of essentials containing important health information, valued at $300, to help take care of their precious babies.

 

• As of January 1, 2019, parents of school-aged children will be able to access the $100 Creative Kids Rebate in addition to the hugely popular $100 Active Kids Rebate.

 

• Expansion of the Toll Relief package with more than 300,000 drivers eligible for either half-priced or free rego from July 1, 2019, if they spend $15 or more a week on tolls.

 

Mr Perrottet said in 2018 the NSW Government gave back more than $200 million to people in NSW through its various cost of living rebates and incentives including:

 

• 400,000 people downloaded the real-time FuelCheck app, which could save drivers $500 a year.

 

• 665,000 Active Kids vouchers were issued.

 

• Introduction of CTP reforms saving motorists around $120 per year on their Green Slips. The average premium is expected to drop to $500 from January 2019.

 

• First Homebuyers stamp duty concessions

 

• Indexing Stamp Duty to CPI, which will in the future save homebuyers thousands.

 

• Introduction of the EnergySwitch comparison website helping people save hundreds on their power bills.

 

• Caravan rego rebate delivering grey nomads, families and adventurers a 40 per cent discount when they register their caravans and camper trailers.

 

"These fantastic initiatives are only possible because of our strong financial management and commitment to take the pressure off the family budget," said Mr Perrottet.

 

"Only a Liberals & Nationals Government can afford to deliver real savings that help the working families of NSW and reduce barriers to people leading healthy lifestyles."

 

"This is about putting money back into the pockets of hard-working people right across NSW."

 

"In contrast, previous Labor governments have been more focused on using office to line their own pockets instead."