Families across the Illawarra and the South Coast are under real pressure. From Wollongong down the coast, longer distances, higher energy needs and fewer alternatives mean the cost of mortgages, rent, groceries and fuel is felt acutely
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 Illawarra and South 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 Illawarra and South 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. In the Illawarra and the South Coast, this includes:
- $828.9 million for the new Shellharbour Hospital and integrated services including
Warrawong Community Health Centre.
- $440.4 million for the Shoalhaven Hospital redevelopment.
- $330.0 million for the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital redevelopment.
- $220.0 million for the Wollongong Hospital and Health Precinct.
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.
Illawarra and South 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. In the Illawarra and the South Coast, this includes:
- A new primary school in Worrigee.
- A new high school in Flinders.
- The Illawarra Heavy Industry Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at TAFE NSW Wollongong.
The Minns Labor Government is delivering new and rebuilt schools across regional NSW, close to the communities they serve.
This Budget will also support a pay rise for 2,601 teachers across the Illawarra and the ongoing delivery of 10 fee free public preschools.
Transport and connectivity
Reliable transport keeps the Illawarra and the South Coast connected and moving. This Budget invests:
- $1.2 billion for the Princes Highway corridor, including the $788.5 million Milton
Ulladulla bypass.
- $270 million for transport connections to the port of Port Kembla.
- $186.1 million for the Mt Ousley Interchange.
- $100.8 million for the Nowra bypass and network improvements.
- $75.6 million to continue Princes Highway safety and productivity upgrades further south at Eurobodalla.
- $21.9 million towards south-facing ramps on the M1 at Dapto.
- $17 million to plan for the redevelopment of WIN Sports and Entertainment Precinct.
- $16 million for Tripoli Way extension.
- $5 million to continue to deliver the Warrawong Parklands Seawall.
Safer Illawarra and South 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.
