Budget 2023: $111 million cut from self-employment training program with entrepreneurship scheme facing axe

Budget night is an opportunity for the federal government to flout its latest spending pledges, and the 2023-2024 federal budget certainly promised a fair amount for the small business and startup sector.

But what is not included — more specifically, what is cut — is of equal importance.

To pay for a number of big-ticket items in its first ‘full’ budget, the Albanese government has underlined a wide array of cuts, downgrades, and funding reprioritisations.

The major cuts come from the axing of the Morrison era ‘patent box’ schemes promising preferential tax treatment to agtech, biotech, and clean energy innovators.

Some $212.9 million over five years from 2022–23 to 2023-27 will also be saved by tweaking priorities within the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

The full effect of these measures will be seen in the days to come. For now, here is a glimpse at the business-focused programs, initiatives, and policies to lose funding in the latest budget.

Funding cuts include:

• Slashing the patent box programs launched by the Morrison government, a move projected to increase government receipts by $722.6 million;
• $111.6 million over four years from reducing place allocations in the Self-Employment Assistance Small Business Coaching program, “to more accurately reflect utilisation of places”;
• $27.5 million over four years by temporarily reducing uncommitted Industry Workforce Training program funding;
• $22.8 million over four years by ending Entrepreneurship Facilitators Program on July 1, 2023;
• $20 million slashed from Jobs and Skills Councils over four years as the federal government reduces uncommitted funding;
• $15.8 million in savings over four years, gained through a 2.5% cut to departmental funding for the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman;
• $10.4 million over two years from the scrapping of the Accelerating Australian Apprenticeships Pilot program;
• “Rescoping” Skills Assessments Pilots to save $3.9 million over two years; and
• Ending the Career Revive program on June 30 this year, saving $1.1 million.

To see SmartCompany‘s full budget coverage, click here.