The 2026-27 Federal Budget has delivered a mixed bag for businesses, with Western Australia again playing a critical role in strengthening the national economy.
Mining exports are set to continue underpinning export growth, despite forecasts of slowing China demand.
CCIWA Chief Economist Dr Daniel Kiely said the rest of the nation had WA to thank for smaller-than-forecast deficit and debt.
“The Treasurer has described this as an ambitious Budget, and that ambition wouldn’t be possible without WA,” he said.
“This State makes up almost half of the nation’s export economy and does most of the heavy lifting to support our nation’s prosperity.
“WA is the economic safety net for the entire nation.”
CCIWA welcomed the strong focus on productivity and red tape reduction, which aimed to cut costs for businesses by $10.2b per year.
“Simplified regulations, streamlined approvals and national competition reforms will ease the regulatory burden on businesses across the nation and help to turn around the nation’s flagging productivity,” Kiely said.
Skilled training commitments fall short
Kiely said businesses would welcome increased funding to attract skilled tradespeople from overseas but diverting apprenticeship funding from larger businesses could limit opportunities.
“WA is facing a significant skills crunch, with an ambitious housing and infrastructure agenda but not enough skilled workers to deliver it,” he said.
“Apprenticeship and traineeships in WA have declined dramatically since Federal employer incentives were removed, and urgent action is needed to make sure WA and the nation has the pipeline of workers we will need.”
Extra tax on trusts will hurt SMEs
Kiely said increased tax on discretionary trusts would hurt small and medium sized businesses.
“Many businesses use discretionary trusts, so the introduction of a 30% minimum tax from 2028 will have an impact at a time when costs are already driving many to breaking point,” he said.
CCIWA has welcomed the permanent extension of the instant asset write-off, and an increase for small business expense deductions from $300 to $1,000 per year.
Other measures to support the WA economy include $173 million to support the growth of Australia’s critical minerals industry, and $179.9m to modernise environmental approvals processes, plus $47.5m to strengthen and streamline Australia’s foreign investment framework.
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