By Jacob Shteyman in Canberra

A new year brings a raft of changes to policies and government payments for more than a million Australians.

From January 1, underpaying workers will officially become a crime, while welfare recipients will notice more money coming into their bank accounts.

Single recipients of youth allowance with dependent children will see payments increase by $30.60 and partnered recipients of youth allowance without dependent children will receive a payment increase of $24.30.

Carer allowance payments will increase by $5.80, bringing the rate to $159.30 per fortnight.

Meanwhile, some eligibility obstacles for government payments will be removed.

There will no longer be fixed time limits for exemptions to mutual obligations if recipients are temporarily incapacitated due to medical conditions, with Services Australia instead granting exemptions for as long as needed according to medical advice.

Award wages for aged-care workers will also increase from January 1.

Another 100,000 TAFE places will be made free, including 10,000 for housing and construction workers, as the government looks to plug a labour shortage holding the sector back from reaching its target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029.

Australians trying to get into university will also have another 8600 fee-free uni ready places to strive for.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the changes would help Australians struggling with the cost of living, which was the government’s top priority.

“We know people are doing it tough, which is why measures like this are so important,” he said.

One thing that won’t be changing are prices for medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

For the first time in more than 25 years, PBS co-payments won’t rise with inflation, saving Australians almost half a billion dollars on the cost of medicine between now and 2030.

Medicare safety net thresholds will increase in line with inflation, meaning people will have to spend more on out-of-hospital medical services before accessing a higher rebate level.

Australians with private health insurance will have access to more benefits as the majority of funds reset their annual extras limits.

Also taking effect from January 1 are the government’s wage theft laws, which mean employers who underpay their staff will be committing a criminal offence.

A ban on the importation of engineered stone benchtops that cause silicosis will also take effect, while changes to vehicle efficiency standards will begin, resulting in lower emissions for new passenger cars sold in Australia.

Corporate Australia will also be given a kick to cut down on carbon, with about 1800 companies to be subjected to mandatory disclosure laws requiring them to measure and disclose the amount of greenhouse gas emissions they produce.