Let’s be honest — there’s been a flood of election promises recently and it can be pretty hard to keep track of it all. Where does Labor stand on climate housing? What’s the Opposition’s position on healthcare? And where do the Greens fit into the mix?

It’s true that election promises are just one part of the picture (because things like leadership style and foreign policy can’t really be captured in a list of pledges) buuuut they can be a good indicator of what the parties prioritise and how they might approach key issues if they win.

With the election just over a month away, we’ve sifted through the key policy details of Australia’s major parties so you don’t have to. Mark your calendars for May 3, people!!

Cost-of-living

As millions of Aussies continue to do it tough, it’s fair to say cozzie livs measures will be front-and-centre for many voters.

Starting with those darn energy bills, Labor has committed to rebates of $75 in quarterly instalments till the end of the calendar year, starting July 2025, and the Coalition has indicated it will not “stand in the way” of this much-needed energy relief.

Labor’s also promised a “modest” tax cut over two stages, the first one saving taxpayers about $5 a week from July 2026 and the second saving $10 a week from July 2027. This measure’s proven divisive among the parties. In a statement, the Greens said the tax cuts will “barely scratch the surface” for Australians struggling with food and rent. It proposed a different cost-of-living measure: adding dental to Medicare, which would be paid by big corporations “paying their fair share of tax”.

The Coalition also said it would repeal Labor’s tax cuts if elected and instead plans to halve the fuel excise added to petrol for one year, taking the rate from about 50c to 25c per litre.

Healthcare

In a welcome move for voters, recent election pledges around healthcare mean our GP and medicine bills should be going down, regardless of who wins the election.

Labor’s committed some $8.5 billion more into Medicare with the aim of nine out of 10 GP visits bulk-billed by the end of the decade. The investment will also go toward training more GPs and nurses to enter the workforce. Meanwhile, the Coalition has promised to match this promise “dollar-for-dollar”.

Certain medications on the PBS will be capped at $25 under a $690 million measure backed by both Labor and the Coalition, along with a more than $570 million boost to women’s healthcare.

Meanwhile, the Greens’ healthcare plan will include free GP visits, dental under Medicare, and building 1,000 new public healthcare clinics. To pay for these measures, it plans to tax big corporations & billionaires.

Mental Health

The Coalition will invest an additional $400 million — on top of the $8.5 billion already pledged — into youth mental health services. It also promised to double the subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20, reverting back to pandemic-era coverage.

The Greens have backed removing the cap on subsidised mental health sessions and also intends to add ADHD and autism assessments to Medicare.

Labor has pledged an additional $46 million to establish an ongoing digital mental health service.

Student Debt & Apprenticeships

Another key policy by Labor — backed by the Greens — will tackle student debt with a 20 per cent cut from July this year. The move is expected to slash over $5,000 off the average debt of slightly more than $27,000.

Labor further promised to raise the minimum income threshold before graduates must begin repaying student loan debts, meaning repayments would not begin until people are earning at least $67,000 from July next year. Also, the rate at which they must repay would be more closely tied to how much above that amount they are earning.

The Greens’ policy takes it one step further, committing to wiping all student debt, which it claims will put $5,500 directly back into Australians’ pockets annually. It also plans to make TAFE and university free for all.

For the Coalition, a target of 400,000 apprentices and trainees in training would be set, with targeted incentive payments for employers to hire and train apprentices. Moreover, small and medium businesses would receive some $12,000 to put on a new apprentice or trainee in critical skills areas for the first two years of their training.

Housing

The Coalition plan to invest $5 billion in essential infrastructure to get stalled housing projects up and going, committing to creating 500,000 new homes. It also intends to scrap Labor’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, arguing the scheme — designed to support the construction of 55,000 social and affordable homes over the next five years — has not yet completed a single home.

Another key Coalition policy will allow first homebuyers to access up to $50,000 from their superannuation to purchase a home.

Conversely, Labor said it will expand its Help-to-Buy scheme — which was legislated last year and backed by the Greens — to single people earning less than $100,000 and couples earning less than $160,000, along with raising the maximum price of properties eligible under the scheme.

Both Labor and the Coalition have vowed to ban foreign investors and temporary residents from purchasing existing homes for two years in a move to free up housing supply for Australians.

The Greens’ policy addresses rental issues with a pledge to limit rent increases to two per cent every two years and the formation of a government-owned developer to build homes rented out at affordable prices. It also intends to establish a National Renters Protection Authority.

In terms of home ownership, the Greens pledges to regulate banks for “fairer and lower mortgages” and phasing out what it calls “tax handouts” like negative gearing and capital gains tax discount going to property investors with more than one investment property.

Climate

Unsurprisingly, the Greens have a pretty comprehensive climate policy platform, which includes ending new coal and gas projects and native forest logging, ending fossil fuel subsidies for all industries except agriculture, expanding publicly-owned renewable energy, and subsidising solar and batteries for homes and businesses. It seeks to provide grants and loans to help households in the electrification process, to install solar batteries, and cut energy bills and emissions.

Meanwhile, the Coalition have been pretty vocal about its nuclear ambitions and plans to build seven nuclear power plants in regional Australia. All the reactors would be taxpayer-funded and it hopes to have smaller units working by 2035 and the first large reactor working by 2037.

It has committed to expanding gas infrastructure through a $1 billion fund till then with a requirement for gas giants to reserve a quarter of uncontracted gas for the domestic market to manage price spikes.

The Coalition has also promised to defund the Environmental Defenders Office, which is an environmental legal centre partially funded by the government. It was defunded by Tony Abbott in 2013 although funding was reinstated by the Albanese government. The office has been criticised for its conduct in court, with Federal Justice Natalie Charlesworth ruling the group had confected evidence and coached witnesses in its legal challenge of a Santos gas project in the Timor Sea, as reported by ABC News.

Labor has yet to announce new climate change commitments. However, already on its plate is an ambition of 82 per cent of the electricity market powered by renewables by the end of the decade. It also intends to have emissions 43 per cent lower than 2005 levels by 2030.

Oo that was a lot to unpack! And don’t be surprised if there’s plenty more announcements down the track, given we’re still around five weeks away from polling day.

But you bet we’ll keep you updated.

Lead image: Getty