Families across the Central Coast are under real pressure. Long commutes, a heavy reliance on cars and fewer local alternatives mean the cost of mortgages, rent, groceries and fuel is felt acutely across the region.
This Budget acts on a simple principle: relief for today, reform for tomorrow, discipline always - building a state working Australians can afford.
Relief for cost-of-living pressures
Relief in this Budget is practical and immediate, and it reaches Central Coast households where costs bite hardest, on the road and in power bills. It delivers:
- $100 off private vehicle registration, worth $435 million across 4.4 million vehicles, 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.
- $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.
- A $1,000 cost-of-living payment for more than 120,000 NSW Government employees, triggered because Sydney CPI growth exceeded 4 per cent between the March quarters of 2025 and 2026.
These relief measures sit in a wider statewide package, comprising:
- The weekly toll cap cut from $60 to $50 for 2026-27, going further than last year's
$60 cap.
- Scrapping toll administration fees from July, saving at least $10 a notice, and ending
a charge that cost motorists $60 million last year, in some cases twice the toll itself.
- Opal fares held at 2025 prices for the year.
Healthier Central Coast communities
Health is the largest single commitment in this Budget.
Across NSW, a historic $10.3 billion increase in health funding over four years, delivered with the Australian Government, will recruit 9,000 more health workers and fund around 2,900 more planned surgeries a year.
This sits alongside $11.9 billion for health infrastructure including 32 new and upgraded hospitals and more than 2,500 beds.
Regional NSW shares fully in that program. Of the $11.9 billion statewide, nearly $3.0 billion is invested in regional hospitals and health facilities over the next four years. On the Central Coast, this includes:
- A palliative care ward in Wyong to support Central Coast residents in their final stages of life as part of the $93 million World Class End of Life Care program.
- Ensuring locals get care quicker through delivery of the new Lisarow Ambulance Station as part of the $615.5 million NSW Ambulance Infrastructure program.
Nurses and midwives receive the largest pay rise in more than twenty years, and the largest ever for enrolled nurses, backed by an additional $2.9 billion in this Budget.
Central Coast nurses, midwives, teachers and police are among those benefiting from the high wage economy this Government is building.
Better schools, closer to home
Every child deserves a world-class education, wherever they live. This Budget invests $9.2 billion statewide over four years for new and upgraded schools, of which $2.3 billion is for regional NSW. On the Central Coast, this includes:
- $18.8 million to continue the Central Coast TAFE Optimisation program, aligning
course delivery across the region's three campuses to align with the needs of the
community.
- New public preschools at Tuggerawong and Umina Beach public primary schools as
part of the 100 new preschools program.
The Minns Labor Government is delivering new and rebuilt schools across regional NSW,
close to the communities they serve.
Transport and connectivity
Reliable transport keeps the Central Coast connected and moving. This Budget invests:
- $331.6 million to commence the Pacific Highway upgrade at the Wyong town centre, following completion of planning.
- $108.2 million for the Terrigal Drive upgrade.
- $41 million of new funding as part of a $50 million integrated program to supercharge the revitalisation of the Gosford Waterfront.
- $39.2 million for the Avoca Drive upgrade at Kincumber.
- $30.7 million to continue planning and early delivery design for a Gosford Bypass.
- $31.9 million for delivery the Central Coast Highway, Tumbi Road intersection upgrade.
Safer Central Coast communities
Domestic and family violence is disproportionately higher in rural and regional areas.
This Budget makes a $184.1 million investment in six frontline domestic and family violence programs, helping thousands more women, children and people impacted by violence access specialist support and stay safe. This is a 50 per cent increase phased in over four years.
Community workers also receive a 4.75 per cent pay increase under the Fair Work Commission determination.
Investments in emergency services protect communities and keep families and businesses safe.
This Budget provides $470.1 million over 10 years to enhance emergency response and better protect communities by transferring the state's red fleet from councils to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Responsible decisions make these investments possible
This Budget can provide cost-of-living relief and continue investing in essential services because the Government has spent the past three years making responsible and difficult decisions to strengthen the state's finances.
That work has been done without privatisation and without bringing back an unfair wages cap, while keeping public assets in public hands and maintaining an independent umpire for wages and conditions.
As global uncertainty and higher fuel prices place additional pressure on families and businesses, this Budget provides support now while continuing the work of returning the state's finances to surplus in 2027-28.
It's about supporting families today, while securing NSW's future.
