This year’s Stage Budget recognises that cost-of-living pressures remain a challenge for the people of regional and rural New South Wales.
Longer travel distances, higher energy needs and fewer alternatives mean higher costs are often felt most acutely in regional communities.
This Budget recognises that access to essential services should not depend on where you live.
Regional and rural families will benefit from key initiatives in the Budget including:
- $100 off private vehicle registration with an $80 cut for motorcycles (excluding caravans and trailers). This is relief that matters most where people rely on cars, utes and longer drives.
- A share of $557.1 million through the Home Energy Saver program: interest-free loans and discounts to install energy-efficient appliances and cut power bills over time.
- More than $1 billion for biosecurity measures including funding to continue combating pest and weed incursions.
- An additional $16.3 million to bolster existing feral pig and deer control strategies.
- $86.6 million over the next two years in the most comprehensive shark management program in NSW’s history.
- Investing $13.7 million for animal welfare in 2026-27, including grant funding to the RSPCA and Animal Welfare League for enforcement of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Concessions and Exemptions Granted
- Land tax exemption grants for land use for primary production – up 23.7 per cent to $3.2 billion
- Primary producer motor vehicle concessions – $24 million – 2025-26
- Fishing licence concessions to pensioners – $9 million – 2025-26
Other budget initiatives for regional NSW include:
- Nearly $3 billion to be invested in new and upgraded health facilities for rural and regional communities across NSW, including $1.1 billion in 2026-27;
- New maternity unit at Grafton Hospital worth $20 million
- $9.9 million for robotic surgery research and capability at Orange Health Service
- $1 million to plan for future paediatric oncology services for children in the Hunter New England and the North Coast
- $2.3 billion over the next four years to deliver new and upgraded schools across regional NSW
- $910.9 million to restore local and state roads, and other essential public assets damaged by natural disasters
- Funding to reconstruct and reopen the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass
- $9.8 billion on regional roads and transport including $291 million for the new Regional Corridors Upgrade Program
- $195.2 million to deliver a landscape-scale, integrated approach to threatened species conservation to support ecosystem recovery across NSW
- $154.2 million to support First Nations communities across NSW
- $153.9 million to support regional communities through the Regional Development Trust
- $130.0 million to maintain and renew national park visitor infrastructure to keep facilities safe and open across NSW
- $209.2 million to improve the and expand the Public Safety Network (PSN), ensuring reliable communications for emergency services and addressing critical asset, operational and greater coverage across NSW
- Better emergency care in regional NSW through an additional $67.4 million to deliver three new regional helicopter bases
- $1.0 million for future paediatric oncology services in Hunter New England and North Coast
- $71.7 million for supporting patients travelling long distances for care for the Isolated Patient Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme
- $2.2 million over two years to coordinate youth crime services in regional NSW
- $1.9 million in 2026-27 to strengthen emergency response capability and resilience of local water utilities
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
“Regional NSW plays a vital role in our state’s prosperity. By easing pressures today and investing in the future of regional NSW, this Budget ensures our regions remain strong, connected and full of opportunity.
“Together, this Budget reflects a balanced approach of providing immediate cost‑of‑living relief while investing in the our primary industries, infrastructure, industries and services for thriving regional communities into the future.”
Media Release: Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty
