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It’s going to be Christmas in July with a Santa sack full of cost-of-living gifts coming in the new financial year—but also a few lumps of coal to watch out for.

🎁 The good news:

• Tax cuts: The lowest tax bracket is dropping from 16% to 15% from next Wednesday, giving some workers a tiny pay bump of around $268 over the next year.

• Wage boost: From 1 July, a full-time worker on the minimum wage will earn just over $1k a week or $52k a year – a welcome bump for millions, but an added pressure for some small businesses.

• Paid Parental Leave: Boosted by 10 days to 26 weeks to help with those loooong sleepless nights.

• The lumps of coal

• Petrol price hikes: The government is halving the halving of the fuel excise subsidy 🤯 meaning the cost of petrol will rise from next week and again on 1 August when the concession disappears altogether.

• NBN on the rise: Wholesale NBN hikes are pushing plan prices up by around $2-$10 a month, but only on select plans (time to get switching).

Finally, a lot of households have started to receive electricity price change notifications and while usage rates are dropping, supply charges – that’s the cost of being connected to the grid – are skyrocketing. My colleague Lizzie’s supply charges are going up by 72%.

This means if you are a low-energy user, your bill could actually rise. Again, time to get switching.

Millions of households could see lower energy bills, with Australia’s three largest energy retailers proposing price cuts for many customers.

A new SMS Sender ID Registry is being introduced to help prevent scammers from impersonating trusted organisations in text messages.

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The ATO has warned Aussies to think twice before taking any tax tips from artificial intelligence (AI) this year. While chatbots are great for brainstorming budgets or organising spreadsheets, they frequently pull from outdated or conflicting online sources. This can result in flat-out incorrect tax advice.

Remember, your tax return is no place for guesswork. The real danger is that AI platforms are trained to sound incredibly confident and convincing, even when they’re completely wrong. Feeding the ATO dodgy data can delay your refund, trigger audit flags and leave you facing stiff penalties.

Remember, the buck stops with you. The ATO holds taxpayers fully responsible for any errors on their forms, regardless of whether the bad advice came from a well-meaning mate, a viral TikTok, or an AI tool.

Getting your return right the first time is the best way to avoid processing delays and the headache of filing amendments. If your tax situation is any more complicated than a basic group certificate, skipping the chatbot and chatting with a registered tax agent is still your safest bet.

Alasdair Duncan
Deputy Finance Editor

The EOFY sales are in their final days and they can cough up some hefty discounts, especially here at the tail end, because, unlike many other sale events, the shops need you to clear their old stock. They want their floor space back. It’s not just goods that go on sale either – discounts on phone plans, NBN contracts, even some health insurance policies. That said, shop with one eyebrow raised because the tax deduction lure is part-marketing psychology. Spending $100 on a tax deductible item will still leave most workers $68 out of pocket. Ask yourself: do I need it? Can I afford it? Is it cheaper elsewhere?

ASIC has ‘lifted the bonnet’ on car loans, with a new report finding some lenders, dealerships and brokers have been stuffing contracts with bloated upfront fees. In one case, over $9,000 in fees was added to a $49,162 loan. Worse yet, 90% of people who faced repossession of their car still owed over half their original loan amount. If you’re in the market for a car, and need a loan to pay for it, do your research. Don't let anyone rush you into a bad deal. Compare costs, interrogate the fine print, and think – is there a better way?

School holidays can be a financial killer, but funnelling rewards points and discount codes toward activities can take the edge off both the cost and the pressure to do something ‘fun’. Telstra Plus and Uber One have $12 to $15 movie tickets up for grabs. Join NRMA rewards (free for the first month) to capitalise on entertainment discounts (just remember to cancel after the holidays). Alternatively, take them on a low-cost shopping trip to a local charity store, or head online to teach them how to scout for treasures on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, or Freecycle.