By Andrew Brown in Canberra

Taxpayers and students are the big winners from Jim Chalmers’s fourth budget, while supermarkets and some bosses have come up short.

FEDERAL BUDGET WINNERS AND LOSERS

WINNERS

• Taxpayers: All taxpayers will get tax cuts in July 2026 and July 2027, taking the average total to an extra $50 a week after this year’s tax cuts are included

• University students: Students with a HECS debt will have 20 per cent of their loan cut, wiping $16 billion from all balances

• First-home buyers: The Help to Buy equity scheme, which allows buyers to purchase a home with a lower deposit, will have caps expanded to make it more accessible

• Workers looking to change jobs: Employees earning less than $175,000 won’t be subjected to non-compete clauses

• Aged care staff: $2.6 billion is set aside in the budget for a pay rise for aged care nurses

• Parents: Mums and dads with kids in childcare will save more than $4000 in fees each year as the government aims to set up universal access

• Beer drinkers: The government will pause indexation of the excise of draught beer for two years from August

LOSERS:

• Supermarkets: The consumer watchdog will get $38.8 million to crack down on misleading and deceptive practices by major retailers

• Consulting firms: The government will reduce spending on consulting and labour hire firms by more than more than $700 million over the next four years

• Business owners: Bosses won’t be able to slap non-compete clauses on employees leaving the workplace as part of a government crackdown

• Foreign property buyers: Foreign buyers will be banned for two years from purchasing existing homes in Australia, which will kick in from April

• Illegal tobacco traders: More than $156 million will be spent from July to elevate a crack down on the illegal tobacco trade