Lower costs.

But in the middle of a cost of living crisis, Labor has introduced more than 70 new or increased taxes and charges, hitting everyday households and businesses.

We are paying more because Labor has wasted $15 billion on Big Build corruption, and taxpayers have been used as an ATM with no limit, while taxes, fees, charges and levies have all increased. We have a different approach that will deliver lower costs for Victorians.

Scrap the Emergency Services Tax

A Liberal and Nationals Government will scrap the Emergency Services Tax, which is a tax on every single family home, business and farm in the state. This will immediately reduce costs for Victorian families and take pressure off local businesses so they can grow.

Stamp duty

We will exempt first home buyers from stamp duty on properties valued up to $1 million. Scrapping stamp duty for first home buyers is about supporting young Victorians and restoring the dream of home ownership.

Lower land tax

Since 2014, land tax has more than quadrupled and every extra dollar raised is pushing up rents, home prices and the cost of investing in new housing stock.

We will reverse Labor’s land tax hikes, lifting the land tax threshold from the current level of $50,000 back to the old level of $300,000 over a five year period, saving 280,000 Victorians up to $975 a year.

Scrap the Schools Tax

We will scrap Labor’s Schools Tax that undermines education choice and opportunity and costs Victorian parents. No Victorian government or non-government school will pay payroll tax under our commitment.

Scrap the GP Tax

Our Plan will make it cheaper for Victorians to go to the GP by abolishing Labor’s regressive GP Tax. This will reduce the cost of seeing a doctor and reduce pressure on our emergency departments.

A $50 per week road toll cap

We will put a cap on road tolls so that Victorian families, tradies and small businesses will pay no more than $50 a week in tolls for two years from 1 July 2027. The toll cap will apply to cars, light commercial vehicles and small business fleets of up to five vehicles.

Removing taxes and lowering costs will ease the pressure on households and small businesses.

We will restore the budget and end Labor’s wasteful spending to help our economy recover and make Victoria the best place to do business. This will unlock private investment, drive jobs growth and rebuild confidence in Victoria. Our Plan will:

• Deliver payroll tax relief for businesses
• Reduce the burden of land tax
• Reduce red tape and compliance costs
• Drive investment and jobs

Repairing the state budget is a priority and will ensure public funds are directed toward essential services and long term economic growth, making it easier for businesses to hire staff and grow.

Lowering costs for businesses

We believe Victoria must be the easiest and most competitive place in Australia to start and grow a business, because private investment, not government spending, drives long term growth. We will reduce costs for businesses, including by delivering payroll tax relief for 23,000 Victorian businesses.

Supporting small businesses

We will simplify key small business regulations to make doing business easier, including consistent site management rules for tradies and simplified permits for cafés, restaurants and bars.

And we will make Service Victoria a one-stop-shop so small businesses don’t have to navigate multiple agencies, forms and websites. We will also introduce a Business Approvals Concierge, providing a single statewide point of contact to coordinate approvals, resolve delays and settle conflicting advice businesses receive from different arms of government.

Growing Victoria’s exports

We will grow Victoria’s goods and services exports by identifying high-growth sectors, diversifying trade markets, strengthening export capability, and addressing skilled labour shortages.

If elected Premier, I will declare Victoria back open for business on 29 November.

Our Plan will:

• Reintroduce proper Technical Colleges
• Create an Accelerating Apprenticeships Fund
• Cap road tolls at $50 per week

Capping road tolls

Road tolls have become a significant cost for Victorian tradies and small businesses. That’s why our $50 weekly toll cap will include light commercial vehicles and small business fleets of up to five vehicles. And it will provide particular relief for tradies who rely on utes and light commercial vehicles to travel between jobs and currently pay higher tolls.

Proper Technical Colleges

We will reintroduce proper Technical Colleges in Victoria, delivering 10 dedicated secondary colleges across metropolitan and regional Victoria for up to 5,000 students each year.

Under our proper Technical College model, students in Years 10–12 will be fully enrolled with dedicated tech college teachers, providing free, industry-focused education and training. Students will graduate with a VCE certificate while gaining practical, job-ready qualifications and real experience to move directly into employment.

Accelerating Apprenticeships Fund

We will back young Victorians and support businesses to hire more apprentices to address the critical skills shortages. Our Plan will cover half the off-the-job training costs for apprentices in trades listed on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, reducing the costs currently paid by employers, giving more young Victorians a pathway into a good job and helping get our economy moving again.

We need tradies to rebuild Victoria and there will be plenty of work to do.

Road maintenance is falling behind and repairs often aren’t done properly, costing Victorians time and money. We will make Victoria’s transport network work for you by:

• Investing $5 billion to rebuild, repair and resurface roads
• Eliminating one million potholes across our road network
• Building new and upgraded roads to reduce congestion

Fixing our roads, properly

Victoria’s roads have deteriorated due to Labor’s neglect and lack of investment. That’s why Our Plan will invest $5 billion to rebuild, repair and resurface roads across Victoria, and do it properly. This will include preventative road maintenance to stop potholes developing, eliminating one million existing potholes, fixing dangerous hazards and reducing the road maintenance backlog.

We will establish Better Roads Victoria as a new agency, rebuilding the technical and engineering expertise lost when Labor abandoned VicRoads and axed Regional Roads Victoria.

Improving road conditions will reduce vehicle damage, saving you money, and will improve safety and travel times.

Delivering the roads you deserve

We will also build new roads and upgrade existing roads to reduce congestion, save time in traffic and get you where you’re going faster, including:

• Donnybrook Road duplication, duplicating the entire 8 km from Epping Rd, Woodstock to Dwyer St, Kalkallo, cutting travel times and congestion for one of Victoria’s fastest growing areas
• Thompsons Road extension, extending and duplicating it between Berwick-Cranbourne Rd, Clyde North and Alexander Blvd and Cardinia Rd, Officer South
• Swan Hill Bridge replacement, replacing the 130 year old bridge connecting Swan Hill to Murray Downs, improving traffic flow, freight and logistics and community safety
• Kilmore Bypass, planning and design to divert through-traffic from the Northern Highway away from Kilmore’s town centre
• Shepparton Second River Crossing, planning, design and early works to progress a second Goulburn River crossing between Shepparton and Mooroopna

Improving transport to reduce wear and tear

By improving public transport, Our Plan will take traffic off our roads, reducing the wear and tear that is costing Victorians.

We will deliver 25 new hybrid electric trains for the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines, finally delivering suburban rail services for these communities. Our Plan includes additional and potential City Loop services every hour during peaks on the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines, more than doubling passenger capacity. Importantly, this investment delivers electrified services sooner, without precluding electrification of these lines upon completion of upgrades to Sunshine station.

A Liberal and Nationals Government will also undertake a comprehensive review of Victoria’s bus network to ensure public transport services better reflect how and where people travel today. Our review will focus on improving frequency, operating hours and connectivity, with the goal of delivering more reliable and convenient services across metropolitan and regional Victoria.

A Liberal and Nationals Government will repair and rebuild our roads properly.

Our Plan will:

• Fast-track home building in existing, identified growth areas
• Restore local planning control and scrap Labor’s high-rise activity centres in the suburbs
• Expand the Capital City Zone into targeted parts of the inner city surrounding the CBD
• Stop cultural heritage delays
• Support regional councils to enable new regional housing developments

And we will abolish stamp duty for first home buyers on properties up to $1 million, reducing upfront costs and improving access to home ownership.

Fast-tracking home building

Labor’s focus on in-fill development in existing suburbs has left new growth areas neglected. This has reduced access to family homes and affordable land, limited housing choice and pushed up prices by artificially restricting the supply of serviced lots.

The Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) system is defined by delay, fragmentation and excessive regulation. Precincts are taking up to a decade to progress. Our Plan will set clear end dates from commencement for all PSPs and introduce industry-led PSPs to speed up land release and increase housing supply.

We will ensure Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution (GAIC) revenue is spent on infrastructure in the communities it is collected from, and allow it to be directed to earlier delivery of roads, schools, utilities and community facilities.

Restore local planning control

A Liberal and Nationals Government will restore local planning control and return decision-making to local communities. And we will scrap Labor’s high-rise activity centres that sideline local residents from planning decisions and force one-size-fits-all housing on communities across Melbourne.

Expand the Capital City Zone

Demand for inner-urban living from young professionals, downsizers, students and small households remains strong, but supply has not kept pace. Only 1,400 new apartments were completed in the inner city in 2024.

Our Plan will expand the Capital City Zone into targeted parts of the inner city surrounding the CBD, building on certainty, streamlined approvals and mixed-use flexibility, in areas already serviced by public transport.

Stop cultural heritage delays

Uncertain timeframes and costs through Victoria’s cultural heritage process, as well as delays within government authorities, are stalling development and seeing fewer new homes built.

We will establish clear timelines and costs for cultural heritage processes, with a Schedule of Fees released annually, mandate approval timeframes where none exist, and commit to an annual, published audit of cultural heritage approvals linked to housing. We will also set clear timelines and costs, and annual performance audits, for Melbourne Water in its approval authority role.

Build new homes in our regional centres

We will support housing growth across regional Victoria by working directly with each regional council to identify local opportunities, infrastructure requirements and delivery pathways, including in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat.

Across regional Victoria, outstanding and unprogrammed PSPs could unlock up to 50,000 new homes. We will work with each council to put the right settings in place, particularly where planning work is ready to proceed.

Our Plan will offer more housing options to give every Victorian the best opportunity to own their own home.

As our energy system continues towards renewable sources we must ensure we maintain reliability for households and businesses. Our Plan will manage the transition responsibly. A Liberal and Nationals Government will:

• Strengthen the energy network
• Establish an Energy Security Requirement for Victoria
• Improve grid reliability
• Deliver Victorian gas for Victorians

An Energy Security Requirement for Victoria

We will establish an Energy Security Requirement for Victoria to address the forecast energy shortfall and ensure reliable and affordable power. It will identify commercial proposals that can deliver energy security, without preferencing or excluding particular sources of energy. It will be technology agnostic.

We will support the most efficient, affordable and reliable energy sources, focusing on low cost outcomes for Victorian households and businesses, especially through more firming capacity for our energy grid.

Energy choice for Victorians

We will ease cost of living pressure and restore energy choice by scrapping Labor’s ban on gas appliances in new homes. Victorians should be the ones who choose which appliances best meet their needs in their homes, not government.

Victorian gas for Victorians

Natural gas has been demonised by Labor for a decade. Only the Liberals and Nationals will back Victorian gas for Victorians. Our Plan will throw open the door for gas exploration, ensuring reliable gas supply for Victoria, supporting manufacturing and helping our gas industry create more local jobs.

Urban Solar Parks

The Liberals and Nationals will establish new Urban Solar Parks to encourage solar and battery installations on commercial and industrial rooftops in urban areas, generating renewable power closer to where it is needed. Energy experts say this could supply as much as 25% of demand and reduce the need for transmission lines on our productive farmland.

Our Plan is for a balanced, reliable and affordable energy system.