New year's Day is approaching, and the first day of 2019 has brought many changes, including new law regulations, fees, taxes and benefits.
Here are the changes you need to know on January 1, 2019:
Train fare rise
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fares for trams and public buses will rise 2.2 percent from January 1, the lowest increase since 2014, according to the state's train.
A two-hour full ticket will increase from A $4.30 to A $4.40, while a full-time ticket will increase from A $8.60 to A $8.80. Concessionary rates will rise from A $2.15 to A $2.20 and A $4.30 to A $4.40 respectively. For seven days, the full Myki card will rise from A $43 to A $44, while the discount card fee will increase from A $21.50 to A $22. The annual full-vote Myki card will increase from A $1683.50 to A $1722.50, while the discount card will increase from A $841.75 to A $861.25.
For rural Victoria, transportation costs in cities and towns will remain unchanged, with transportation costs in the same area limited to A $2.40 for the fourth year in a row.
At the same time, students will no longer have to pay for transportation on the concessionary line, nor will they need to carry the Victoria School Student Public Transport Card (Public Transport Victoria School Student ID),) but use the approved School Student ID to travel through the concessionary line.
Commuters in Brisbane will see increases in transport costs on Jan. 7, with TransLink announcing a 1.8 percent increase in adult and concessionary fares.
Adult one-way tickets will increase from A $4.70 to A $4.80, but the discount rate will remain unchanged at A $2.40. Adult ticket prices for eight-zone tickets will increase from A $28.40 to A $28.90 and discount tickets from A $14.20 to A $14.50.
Cheaper TransLink Gocard users with further discounts for off-peak travel, one-way adult fare increased from A $2.60 to A $2.65 to A $3.31. The discount will increase to A $1.32 to A $1.66 from A $1.30 to A $1.63.
The highest fares in sector 8 will increase from A $15.69 to A $19.61 for adults and A $15.97 to A $19.96 for adults and A $7.98 to A $9.98 for discount tickets from A $7.84 to A $9.81.
The new state introduced its annual fare adjustment in July, with Opal card fares up 2.2% and average commuter spending rising by 39 cents a week.
Sanitary sliver tax cancelled
The fiscal minister Josh Frydenberg obtained an agreement in October from state and territorial finance officials to cut the so-called "tampon tax," and women's health products will become cheaper from January 1. Sanitary goods, such as cotton slivers, sanitary towels and pads, will eventually be exempted from a 10% tax on goods and services.
Electricity price reduction
AGL customers in Victoria will see prices fall 1.6 percent from January 1, saving an average of A $23 a year per household and A $60 for small businesses. Gas prices for residential users will fall 0.9 percent, while small businesses will fall 1.2 percent, averaging A $11 and A $56 respectively.
Prices in New York, Kunzhou and South Australia also fell in July, following a 20 percent surge in AGL prices in 2017.
Origin Energy's electricity price in Victoria will remain unchanged and will continue to offer a 26 percent discount to card customers and 17 percent to other residential and non-discount customers in the state.
In New State, first Territory, Kunzhou and South Australia, an estimated two hundred and thirty thousand holders of long-term or non-preferential contracts will automatically receive a 10 percent discount on electricity from January 1, with an average savings of A $169.
EnergyAustralia will also keep prices unchanged in Victoria from January 1. Earlier this year, EnergyAustralia announced new state, South Australia and first Territories electricity prices will remain unchanged, and Kunzhou's electricity prices will be lowered in the coming year. The company said it received more than A $15 million in extra costs in Victoria, an increase of 1.9 percent per household and an average annual bill of A $39.
Gas prices will rise 4.2 percent, or about A $69 a year, per household, but EnergyAustralia said consumers could avoid rising prices by turning to a safe savings scheme, locking 2018 prices for two years.
Credit card blow
Australia's top 10 credit card issuers, American Express, ANZ Bank, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Citibank, CommBank, HSBC, Latitude, Macquarie Bank, National Bank of Australia and Western Pacific Bank, have agreed to sort out the way they handle their indebted customers.
Earlier this year, a ASIC report found that more than 1/6 consumers, nearly 2 million, were struggling with credit card debt. According to data from the Australian Federal Reserve, the amount of debt owed is nearly A $52 billion.
In response, some card issuers are now experimenting with positive measures, such as tailor-made communications or structured payment arrangements to help consumers with potentially troubled debt or unable to repay balance transfers.
Other measures include limiting the amount of money consumers can exceed their credit limits to 10 percent, adopting a fairer approach to balancing transfers, such as allowing interest-free periods for new consumption, and strengthening disclosure of old credit cards.
Each card issuing agency in the implementation of voluntary change, in different stages.
Some of the mandatory law reforms, including a three-year assessment of responsible loans, also came into effect on January 1. This means that banks cannot provide credit cards with limits that consumers cannot repay for three years.
They will also be prohibited from providing unsolicited credit line increases, interest charges on retroactive balance transfers, and must provide the ability to apply online for lower credit lines or credit card write-offs.
Prohibition order punishment
The ban on plastic bags in Western Australia will take effect on January 1, with retailers facing potential prosecute and a fine of up to A $5000.
Suppliers and manufacturers of plastic bags that provide misleading information to retailers are also at risk of being fined and prosecute. The ban applies to all retailers, not just supermarkets, but also all bags with a thickness of 35 microns or less, even if they are biodegradable or composting.
Queensland and Western Australia imposed a plastic bag ban on July 1, consistent with South Australia, first Territories, Northern Territory and Tassoon, but Western Australian retailers have six months to phase out existing inventories.
The state of government said it would ban plastic bags by the end of 2019, but the new state refused to follow suit. Most major retailers, including Coles and Woolworths, began a nationwide ban on July 1.
Intensive vaccination
Western Australia government is stepping up vaccination efforts, the introduction of the "No Jab No Play" policy.
Starting January 1, child care centers, kindergartens and schools will be asked to collect and report on the immunization status of all students, and the state's chief health officer may close them in the event of an outbreak of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases.
The Ministry of Health will use the data to track families for vaccinations, expel children from outbreaks if necessary, and could be fined A $1000 if the person in charge allows banned children to enter the agency.
Under the second phase of the plan, the state government will introduce a bill to ban under-vaccinated children from entering childcare centres from 2019 and kindergarten from 2020.
New, Victoria and Kunzhou have introduced similar law, and South Australia plans to begin implementation in the near future. The federal government has refused to pay for family benefits for unvaccinated children under the "no vaccination, no pay" policy.
Western Australia's immunization rate is lower than the national average, with the state's two-year-old having the lowest immunization rate of 89.1 percent. In order to achieve population immunization, 95% of children must be fully immunized to effectively prevent outbreaks of highly contagious diseases such as measles.
Taxpayer's "baby bag"
In the new state, new parents who have been discharged from hospital since January 1 will receive a A $300A "baby bag" funded by taxpayer, filled with baby products and child-rearing information to help parents "welcome newborns to the world". The baby bag includes sleeping bags, games and dressing pads, thermometer and first aid kits as part of the A $157 million parents' package announced by the government in the national budget.
The "baby bag" is described as "a victory for the new state family" and includes fine sand coated cloth, baby toothbrushes, chest pads, toddler paper books, facial towels, baby wipes, hand sanitizers and isolation creams.
If your baby is born at home, you can get the Baby Kit through the New State birth, death and Marriage Registry. If your child is born in another state or overseas, but you have a home address in a new state, you can apply for a "baby bag" by e-mail, which will be delivered free of charge to your designated new state address.
Last year, fewer than 95,999 babies were born in the new state. In the first six months of 2019, the state's 87 public and private maternity hospitals are expected to distribute about 50, 000 "baby bags", according to the new state's government.
Reserved restaurants will not be eligible for Qantas points
As of January 1, as airlines close their 2014 Qantas restaurant program, AAC members will no longer be able to earn points by booking meals.
A partnership with TripAdvisor's Dimmi.com.au platform allows members to earn points by booking at more than 4000 restaurants, each earning 100 Qantas points.
A brief notice on Qantas's website said: "as of January 1, 2019, you will not be able to earn points through the Qantas restaurant booking program due to changes in the plan. Until December 31, 2018, you can still book a restaurant until January 31, 2019. "
It is understood that Qantas and Dimmi have decided to end the partnership, and the airline is discussing new ways for members to earn points when they eat out.
Australian Airways Guest members can still earn points at more than 60 restaurants in Rockpool Catering Group.
NAB ATM charge
As of January 1, National Bank of Australia customers will be forced to pay A $2 in fees and, since 2009, National Bank of Australia customers will be able to use RediATM's more than 3000 ATM machines free of charge.
But as banks parted with RediATM, they now need to pay. Redi ATM ATMs are typically located in convenience stores and bars.
A national spokesman defended the move, saying consumers could still withdraw cash free of charge from more than 7000 national banks' own ATM machines.
Disabled prisoners pension
Thousands of disabled people in prison support pension recipients and will be able to continue receiving pension after their release.
Prisoners who do not receive DSP subsidies while in custody can "suspend" payments for up to two years. Federal government plans to reduce the maximum suspension to 13 weeks from January 1 to align it with other benefits, including NewStart. The change, announced in the 2018 federal budget, is expected to save A $5.2 million for government over five years, affecting an estimated 2200 people, including those who have pleaded guilty but are still awaiting trial, who will be forced to reapply for DSP. under stricter new requirements