What the 2025 NSW Budget means for Work, Health and Wellbeing

The 2025 NSW Budget has been announced by the Treasurer of NSW, The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC outlining where funding will be allocated over the upcoming financial year. This year’s budget is focusing heavily on addressing housing affordability, the cost-of-living crisis, essential services, education, child protection and economic growth. Additionally, the NSW Government has announced that they will be investing $12.6 billion in building and upgrading health infrastructure over the period of four years, and $3.3 billion over the upcoming financial year. The Treasurer also outlined key funding allocations to worker’s compensation, health, wellbeing and support for First Nations people. In this blog post we will discuss the key takeaways from the 2025 NSW budget and what is means for work, health and wellbeing.

Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation

In his speech unveiling the 2025 NSW budget, Mookhey briefly mentioned the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 which has been delayed for a second parliamentary inquiry. Mookhey said that because of this, the Budget will include $2.6 billion in additional workers compensation liabilities. In the world of Rehabilitation, $334 million has been allocated to increasing the quality of support for injured workers, which includes restoring the independence of SafeWork NSW to ensure that it is adequately resourced to protect workers.

Health and Wellbeing

The 2025 NSW Budget outlines targeted funding for the following health and wellbeing priorities in the year ahead:

• $12.4 billion has been allocated to health infrastructure in NSW, including much need updates to hospitals.
• An additional $846.4 million in funding core health services and to help lower overdue surgeries.
• $9.5 million to establish an internal health locum agency in a bid to strengthen workforce coordination and improve retention.
• $83.8 million worth of funding to the Maternity Care and First 2,000 days package to develop and upskill the maternity workforce and delivering parental support to regional areas.
• $158.8 million towards providing three new regional helicopter bases.
• $15.4 million over the next 12 months to boost the community mental health workforce, mental health support for young people and the regional community.
• $669.8 million in providing infrastructure for key mental health reforms including child, adolescent and elderly persons services, forensic services and community care.
• Over $3.4 billion over four years to supply vital health services to Western Sydney.

First Nations 

Furthermore, the following allocations of funding have been outlined for First Nations peoples:

• $23.1 million to provide culturally responsive community-led suicide prevention initiatives.
• $21.9 million to expand Aboriginal Maternal and Infant Health Services and Building Strong Foundations programs to provide support to families in the first 2,000 days of a child’s life.

Veterans 

Moreover, in partnership with the Australian Government, the NSW Government is providing $12.9 million of funding in the upcoming financial year for the NSW Veterans Strategy 2025-2030. This includes $2 million for a new memorial in the Domain.

Regional NSW

In regional NSW, the Budget has allocated $3.5 billion over the next four years to improving hospitals with a particular focus on Wollongong Hospital and Health Precinct and the Forbes Hospital Operating Theatre Redevelopment.  There will also be $15.4 million given to help tackle mental health in regional areas with a particular focus on young people with severe and complex mental illness. More than $1.1 billion over 12 months will also be put towards rural and regional health capital works projects.

Continuing and Upcoming Initiatives

In this financial year, the 2025 NSW Budget will also continue to provide support for the State-wide Mental Health Infrastructure Program. It also notes that the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement is set to expire on the 30^th of June 2026 which provides crucial support services to mental health and suicide prevention systems.

How we can help

Looking after the Mental Health and wellbeing of your staff is more important than ever. Here at Recovery Partners, we help business just like yours create a supportive and heathy work environment that prioritises employee wellbeing. We offer the following wellbeing services:

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Psychological Services
• Psychological Health Monitoring
• Psychological Early Intervention Assessment
• Wellbeing Checks
• Psychometric Pre-Employment Health Assessments
• Psychological Functional Capacity Evaluation