Revenue (Cost of Living Relief Locked-in Law) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026

Introduced: 23/6/2026By: Hon D Janetzki MPStatus: PASSED

Cost of Living Transport & Roads Housing & Renting Business & Economy

This summary was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human.

Plain English Summary

This is an omnibus bill covering multiple policy areas.

Overview

This bill locks four cost-of-living measures from the 2026-27 State Budget into law. It guarantees 50 cent public transport fares, makes the $30,000 First Home Owner Grant permanent, extends the 50% payroll tax rebate for apprentice and trainee wages by a year, and restricts stamp duty home concessions to citizens, permanent residents and certain foreign retirees.

Who it affects

Public transport commuters and first home buyers building new homes benefit most, while temporary residents buying a home lose access to discounted stamp duty from 1 August 2026.

50 cent public transport fares

The bill writes 50 cent fares into transport law, requiring the Transport and Main Roads chief executive to keep fares at no more than 50 cents on most SEQ and regional urban services.

Fares capped at 50 cents on SEQ buses, city trains, Brisbane River and island ferries, Gold Coast light rail and regional urban buses
Covers regional centre bus services in places like Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba, Mackay, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Airport Rail Link services are excluded from the 50 cent cap
Which services are covered can be adjusted by regulation, which remains subject to Parliament's disallowance

First Home Owner Grant ($30,000)

The temporary increase of the First Home Owner Grant from $15,000 to $30,000 is made ongoing rather than ending on 30 June 2026.

The $30,000 grant continues for new-home transactions from 1 July 2026
Transactions that started before 1 July 2026 keep being assessed under the old rules

Apprentice and trainee payroll tax rebate

Employers who pay wages to apprentices and trainees can keep claiming a 50% payroll tax rebate for one more year.

The 50% rebate on apprentice and trainee wages is extended to the financial year ending 30 June 2027

Stamp duty home concession eligibility

Stamp duty home and first-home concessions are restricted to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees.

A new 'specified resident' test applies to all home and first-home stamp duty concessions from 1 August 2026
Where a citizen or permanent resident buys with a temporary resident, the concession still applies to the citizen's share only
Temporary residents pay standard transfer duty rates on their share of the property

How this affects you

Cost of Living

•Your 50 cent public transport fare is now locked into law so it can't be quietly raised without going back to ParliamentClause 24 (new s 10A)The chief executive must use their powers to ensure the fare for permanent 50 cent fare services is not more than 50 cents.
•If you're buying or building a new home, the First Home Owner Grant stays at $30,000 instead of dropping back to $15,000Clause 16Section 20 is amended to replace '$15,000' with '$30,000' for new-home eligible transactions from 1 July 2026.

Transport & Roads

•Fares stay at no more than 50 cents on SEQ buses, city trains, ferries, the Gold Coast light rail and regional urban busesClause 24 (new s 10A)Covers road-based route services, the south east Queensland rail network, Gold Coast light rail, and ferry services.
•Regional bus users in centres like Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba, Mackay and Rockhampton are covered by the 50 cent capClause 24 (new s 10A(4))'Regional centre service' covers route services within listed local government areas.
•Brisbane Airport Rail Link services are not covered by the 50 cent fare capClause 24 (new s 10A(2))A permanent 50 cent fare service does not include a service provided on the Brisbane Airport Rail Link.

Housing & Renting

•First home buyers building or buying a new home keep getting a $30,000 grantClause 16The increased First Home Owner Grant of $30,000 continues from 1 July 2026.
•If you're buying a home on a temporary visa, you lose the cheaper stamp duty home concessions from 1 August 2026Clauses 4-8 (new s 90A)Buyers must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree to be eligible.
•If you buy with a partner who is a temporary resident, you still get the concession on your share but they pay standard duty on theirsPart 2Concession eligibility is assessed separately for each party and applied in proportion to their interest.

Business & Economy

•If you employ apprentices or trainees, you keep the 50% payroll tax rebate on their wages for another yearClauses 19-22The 50% apprentice and trainee rebate is extended to wages paid during the financial year ending 30 June 2027.

Bill Journey

Introduced23 June 2026

First Reading

Committee

Committee Report

Second Reading

In Detail

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Referenced Entities

Sectors Affected

Real Estate Taxation Public Transport

Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards

Source Documents

Spotted an error on this page? Send feedback

Tell us about anything that looks wrong with this bill’s summary, topics, or data. Your message is sent to the OpenQueensland team.