Key points
Small and family businesses are the backbone of our economy. The Morrison Government is supporting small business operators so they can focus on doing what they do best – running their businesses, growing their businesses and creating jobs for Australians.
Small and family businesses account for more than 97 per cent of all Australian businesses and they employ almost 8 million Australians.
As part of over $314 billion in direct economic support to help save jobs and businesses, JobKeeper supported around 1 million small businesses at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As our recovery continues, backing in small and family businesses is key to a stronger economy and a stronger future for all Australians.
The Coalition is committed to making it easier for Australians to start and grow a small business.
Our Government has delivered the lowest small business tax rate in over 50 years, reducing the rate from 30 per cent in 2013-14 to 25 per cent in 2021-22. Around 3.6 million small businesses have benefited from the Morrison Government’s lower taxes. This is part of a comprehensive economic plan to support small businesses, investment and jobs in a strong and growing economy.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- Keep taxes at record lows so Australian small businesses keep more of what they earn with no new taxes on small business.
- Further cut red tape on small business owners to boost cash flow and ensure they can focus on running their business.
- Help small businesses upskill staff with targeted skills development incentives.
- Create new incentives for small businesses to embrace the digital economy.
- Ensure small businesses have access to affordable, reliable energy.
- Support innovation and commercialisation opportunities.
- Level the playing field for small business.
- Enable more Government procurement opportunities for small business.
- Open up global opportunities for small business.
- Make it easier for Australian small businesses to access finance.
- Make sure small business owners know they have a Government that will support them through tough times, back them in and let them get on with business.
- Support the creation of more Australian small businesses.
The Morrison Government is committed to small business creation - because when small businesses are created, jobs are created.
At the 2019 election, we committed to support the creation of a quarter of million small businesses over five years.
Based on the latest data we are well on track to beat that commitment with more than 100,000 small businesses created in the past twelve months alone.
That is why a re-elected Morrison Government is committed to support the creation of 400,000 small and family businesses over the next five years.
Our plan for a strong economy and a stronger future for all Australians relies on strong small businesses.
The Morrison Government is delivering on its commitment to ensure small businesses have access to affordable, reliable energy while also reducing their emissions through the adoption of technology, not taxes.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- provide a $60 million investment in the Powering Business program to support businesses in energy intensive industries to lower their energy bills, save energy and improve their competitiveness by moving to low emissions production.
- provide $17.9 million to the Business Energy Advice program to fund advisory services and tools for small and medium businesses to help them navigate the electricity retail market, adopt more efficient technologies, and reduce their energy costs. An additional 15,000 advisory sessions will be delivered.
Labor does not support enterprise, aspiration or small business. They have no understanding of, or empathy with, the pressures of running a small business. In opposition, Labor repeatedly voted for higher taxes and more imposts on small business.
Labor’s reckless policies will place new burdens on small businesses and weaken our economy. They will push up small business costs and make it more difficult for small businesses to invest and to create jobs.
- Labor voted repeatedly against tax relief for small and medium businesses and went on to promise $387 billion of extra taxes at the 2019 election.
- Labor voted in 2021 to retrospectively make public the private and confidential tax information of thousands of Australian small businesses.
- Labor will return union lawlessness to the construction industry by abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission.
When Labor starts spending, they simply can’t stop. The result is higher taxes and higher interest rates that would hit small and family businesses hard.
Labor’s poorly developed policies in response to the COVID pandemic would have cost Australian taxpayers an extra $81 billion and increased the budget deficit by 20 per cent.
Labor can’t manage money. That’s why they always come after yours.
This is not the time to change course.
This is the time to stick to the Morrison Government’s plan for a strong economy and a stronger future for all Australians.
The Morrison Government is delivering lower, fairer and simpler taxes, to support our economic recovery and ensure Australians keep more of what they earn.
Our Plan
1. Cutting taxes for small business
The Morrison Government’s economic plan will continue to support small business by delivering lower taxes. Tax relief for small businesses means they have more money to take on an extra employee, offer an extra shift or buy a new piece of equipment.
The Morrison Government has backed small businesses with the lowest tax rate in 50 years and record investment incentives.
These reforms are expected to deliver more than $21 billion in tax relief to more than 3.6 million small businesses, with around $2.6 billion in tax relief to flow from 1 July this year.
We have expanded access to 10 small business tax concessions by lifting the annual turnover threshold from $10 million to $50 million to cover more small and medium businesses.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- impose no new taxes on small business.
- keep taxes on small businesses at record low levels and deliver more than $21 billion in tax cuts to small businesses from 2015-16 to 2024-25, with around $2.6 billion flowing from 1 July this year.
- ensure that until 30 June 2023 businesses with annual turnover or total income less than $5 billion can instantly write off assets.
- extend to the 2022-23 year the capacity of companies with annual turnover less than $5 billion to offset losses against previously taxed profits to generate a refund.
2. Cutting red tape to boost cash flow
The Coalition’s Deregulation Agenda is making it easier for Australians to grow and run their small business. A range of new measures will reduce compliance costs, streamline reporting requirements and improve cash flow for small and family businesses.
New deregulation measures will help reduce red tape and save small businesses time and money, including automating the calculation of tax instalments; facilitating pre-filling of state payroll tax returns through sharing data collected by the ATO; removing duplicative reporting requirements and using Business Activity Statements to prefill tax returns; digitalising income reporting for trusts; and aligning the excise and other reporting requirements for small excise remitters.
More than $1.8 billion in cash flow support will flow from reducing the level of tax instalments small business and sole traders are required to pay in 2022-23.
Small businesses are the biggest winners from our Deregulation Agenda.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- reduce administrative overheads and streamline business engagement with the ATO and the Australian Border Force.
- implement innovative reform measures, including automating the calculation of tax instalments and facilitating pre-filling of state payroll tax returns through sharing data collected by the ATO.
- establish a dedicated small business unit in the Fair Work Commission to help small business employers navigate their workplace obligations.
3. Investing in small business skills
Small and family businesses employ almost 8 million Australians.
The Morrison Government will provide the tools to help small businesses upskill their workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow. More skilled employees will drive productivity gains and enhance business growth.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- encourage small businesses to invest in the skills of their employees and train new ones through the Skills and Training Boost. Small businesses with annual turnover less than $50 million will have access to a new bonus 20 per cent deduction for the cost of external training courses delivered by registered training providers. This will apply to expenditure from Budget night (29 March 2022) to 30 June 2024, providing $550 million in tax relief.
- provide $3.7 billion to increase investment in Australia’s skills development, address critical skills needs and meet the demands of a growing economy. We will continue to work towards a new National Skills Agreement with state and territory governments, which has the capacity to deliver an additional 800,000 training places.
- invest a further $2.8 billion to upskill apprentices, including by introducing a streamlined Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System from 1 July 2022. This moves away from a complex system with over 30 different payments for employers and apprentices.
- expand the successful JobTrainer Fund with a further $49.5 million investment, contingent on matched funding from the states, to provide an additional 15,000 free or low-fee places to support Australia’s aged care workforce.
- extend for an additional three months the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidies, which have helped more than 68,000 employers hire over 190,000 new apprentices and trainees.
4. Supporting small business going digital
The Morrison Government has set a goal of making Australia a top 10 data and digital economy by 2030. Supporting small businesses to adopt digital technologies and to bolster their cyber security is a major part of our plan.
Going digital means reduced costs and bigger profits as small business owners connect with new markets. Small businesses with higher levels of digital transformation are 50 per cent more likely to grow revenue, eight times more likely to create jobs and seven times more likely to export.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- Deliver $1 billion to support around 3.6 million eligible small businesses to embrace the digital economy through the Technology Investment Boost. For small businesses with annual turnover of less than $50 million, this measure provides access to a bonus 20 per cent deduction for the cost of expenses and depreciating assets that support digital uptake. Every $100 spent on digital technologies like cloud computing, e-Invoicing, cyber security and web design will attract a $120 tax deduction (on expenditure of up to $100,000 a year).
- Continue to support the adoption of eInvoicing by more small businesses. eInvoicing can save up to $20 per invoice, with a doubling of registered eInvoicing businesses in the last seven months. More than 80 per cent of Australian Government invoices are now receivable via eInvoicing and our goal is 100 per cent by 1 July 2022.
- Help small businesses with cyber security through our Cyber Security Strategy, including our 24/7 cyber security hotline at the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Of the 67,500 cybercrimes reported in 2020-21, 43 per cent targeted small businesses.
5. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable energy
Hundreds of thousands of small businesses are paying less on their electricity bills and are better able to compare offers under the Morrison Government’s economic plan for affordable, reliable energy.
The ACCC’s December 2021 electricity inquiry report shows small business electricity costs have fallen 10 per cent over the past two financial years.
The Morrison Government has provided around 1,000 energy efficiency grants to help small and medium businesses to upgrade their equipment, increase energy productivity, reduce emissions and lower their power bills.
Since we launched in 2019 our Business Energy Advice Program has supported over 13,000 small businesses to learn more about their energy bills, to plan energy audits, identify energy savings opportunities and ultimately lower their power bills
The Consumer Data Right will enable consumers, including small businesses, to authorise third parties to access their energy data and empower them to get a better deal on a range of energy products and services.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- provide a $60 million investment in the Powering Business program to support businesses in energy intensive industries to lower their energy bills, save energy and improve their competitiveness by moving to low emissions production.
- provide $17.9 million to expand the Business Energy Advice program to fund advisory services and tools for small and medium businesses to help them navigate the electricity retail market, adopt more efficient technologies, and reduce their energy costs. An additional 15,000 advisory sessions will be delivered.
- implement the Consumer Data Right for Energy in late 2022.
6. Accelerating commercialisation and modern manufacturing
The Morrison Government is working to ensure small business is a key partner and beneficiary of our $2.2 billion University Research Commercialisation Action Plan.
Our Trailblazer Universities are attracting significant investment from small and medium enterprises. Small businesses are incubators of new ideas and products, with the opportunity through this program to partner with big companies and universities to test, refine and commercialise their inventions.
The Coalition is transforming Australia’s manufacturing sector through the $2.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy which is helping Australian manufacturers scale up across six National Manufacturing Priorities: food and beverage, medical products, resources technology and critical minerals processing, recycling and clean energy, defence and space.
The Manufacturing Modernisation Fund supports transformation in small and medium manufacturing businesses, providing co-funded grants to upgrade production processes, support technology adoption and grow highly skilled workforces.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- invest $2.2 billion to bring universities and industry including small businesses together to develop the next generation of Australian companies and products with six Trailblazer Universities across the country.
- continue the Entrepreneurs’ Programme to enable small businesses to commercialise their intellectual property, take advantage of growth opportunities and connect to research collaboration opportunities.
- support small and medium manufacturers through grants from the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, enabling them to drive innovation.
- encourage Australians to recycle more and to buy products manufactured with recycled content through the ReMade in Australia campaign.
7. Levelling the playing field for small business
The Coalition will continue to stand up for small businesses and level the playing field.
We established the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman to advocate for small and medium businesses. We’ve given the Ombudsman more resources to ensure a strong role in dispute resolution and mediation.
Our Government is committed to small businesses getting paid on time. With eInvoicing, procurement policies and the Payment Times Reporting Register, we’re ensuring large businesses and Government agencies do not use small businesses as a bank.
The Coalition has strengthened section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act to prevent the misuse of market power, and is boosting protections for consumers and small businesses against unfair contract terms.
The franchising industry is worth $155 billion to the national economy and employs over 500,000 Australians. The Morrison Government has delivered a major overhaul of the franchising framework, including the automotive franchising industry, to better protect small businesses.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- provide $10.4 million to enhance and redesign the Payment Times Reporting Portal and Register.
- legislate to strengthen protections for consumers and small businesses against unfair contract terms and capture more small businesses.
- address power imbalances between franchisees and franchisors with stronger penalties for breaches under the Franchise Code of Conduct.
- help people make informed decisions before entering a franchise agreement, with a new $4.3 million Franchise Disclosure Register.
8. Boosting procurement opportunities
The Morrison Government is ensuring small and medium businesses win a large share of valuable contracts in the highly-competitive government procurement market.
Australian small and medium businesses are supplying a record share of goods and services to the Australian Government worth $18.7 billion.
Small and medium businesses are winning 43 per cent of contracts worth up to $20 million, well above our target of 35 per cent.
Our Supplier Pay On-Time or Pay Interest Policy is ensuring all government agencies pay invoices within 20 calendar days or 5 days for eInvoicing.In 2020-21, 93.2% of relevant invoices were paid within 20 days, up from 90.6% the year before, despite the impact of the pandemic.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- reform the Commonwealth Procurement Rules by 1 July 2022 to give small and medium businesses a fairer opportunity to win Government contracts. We’re ensuring major projects are disaggregated into smaller contract opportunities to allow greater access, and removing pre-contract insurance and liability requirements.
- consistent with Australia’s international undertakings, authorise the Department of Defence to build local sovereign capabilities by directly purchasing and tendering from small and medium businesses for procurements up to $500,000 from 1 July 2022.
- from 1 July 2022 extend our Supplier Pay on Time or Pay Interest Policy to all contracts, regardless of value.
9. Opening up global opportunities
The Coalition is focussed on opening up global opportunities for Australian small businesses.The Coalition Government has finalised 11 free trade agreements (FTAs) since 2013, lifting the share of Australia’s trade covered by FTAs from 27 per cent in 2013 to around 78 per cent now.
Australian small and medium-sized exporters represent around 90 per cent of our goods exporters and we are helping them grow through our reformed Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme, with 2,600 new exporters applying to join the program.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- deliver a $187.1 million Simplified Trade System built around the ‘tell us once’ principle making trading easier and less costly for close to 200,000 Australian businesses.
- invest an additional $100 million to expand the Export Market Development Grants program to provide financial support to existing regional and rural small to medium-sized exporters, adding to the $80 million of grants announced in December 2021.
10. Easier access to finance
The Coalition is providing continuing support for Australian small and medium businesses looking to access finance.
In 2019, the $2 billion Australian Business Securitisation Fund was established to invest in securitisations backed by SME loans and issued by smaller banks and non-bank lenders. In October 2020, the Government launched the Australian Business Growth Fund to provide longer term equity funding to small businesses looking to expand.
In response to COVID, our Government has also established the SME Recovery Loan Scheme, allowing SMEs to access additional funding or refinance existing loans at a lower interest rate. This funding is supporting small and medium businesses through the pandemic recovery and enabling them to invest in the future.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- ensure the SME Guarantee Scheme and the SME Recovery Loan Scheme continues to support more than 90,000 loans worth over $10 billion.
- continue to support the growth of start-ups with our venture capital tax incentives.
- implement reforms to Employee Share Schemes, helping Australian start-ups attract and retain talent. Employees at all levels can directly share in the business growth they help to generate.
11. Supporting small business in tough times
The Coalition will always support small businesses in tough times, helping them to rebound and grow. During the pandemic, more than 1 million businesses and 4 million workers were supported by JobKeeper – the largest economic support program in Australia’s history.
The Morrison Government’s unprecedented support for small businesses and their employees included the Cashflow Boost, 50 per cent wage subsidies for apprentices and the HomeBuilder program.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- continue to partner with Beyond Blue with an additional $4.6 million for free mental health support to small businesses.
- provide $2.1 million to extend the free Small Business Debt Helpline – assisting small business owners to navigate issues including avoiding bankruptcy, negotiating payment plans, debt waivers, grants applications and insolvency.
- continue to ensure access for small regional businesses to free financial counselling and recovery support services through the Rural Financial Counselling Service.
- provide small businesses with a streamlined process to pause ATO debt recovery action.
12. Supporting entrepreneurialism
The Coalition understands the drive, passion and determination needed to start a small business and is investing in future small business owners.
The Coalition is committed to removing barriers to entry by providing tailored support to boost female business ownership and migrant business ownership.
The Coalition has a strong track record. Female business ownership increased to 815,600 in 2021, from 647,000 in 2013. More than a third of small business owners are women.
Since 2013, migrant business owners have increased by around 135,000. Almost one-third of Australian businesses are owned by migrants.
A re-elected Coalition Government will:
- invest $8 million in the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman to work with service providers to offer business planning, capacity building and financial literacy.
- continue the Boosting Female Founders Initiative to provide grants to majority women-owned and led start-ups to help them scale their small businesses.
- invest $9 million to expand the successful Future Female Entrepreneurs Program.Funding will continue to support the Academy for Enterprising Girls and the Accelerator for Enterprising Women, while establishing a new Senior Enterprising Women program and an Enterprising Women in Leadership program.
- provide migrant and CALD communities access to specialised business advisory services through the Entrepreneurs Programme.
Our Record
The Morrison Government stands up for small businesses because we know that backing them is crucial to growing the economy and creating jobs.
We provided an economic lifeline during the pandemic – the largest financial shock since the Great Depression – with $314 billion in direct economic support including JobKeeper, Cashflow Boost payments, 50 per cent wage subsidies for apprentices and the HomeBuilder program.
By always delivering for small businesses we’ve helped to build an even stronger economy, supporting more investment and creating more jobs.
Lower taxes
- Delivered the lowest small business tax rate in over 50 years, reducing the company tax rate from 30 per cent in 2013-14 to 25 per cent from 1 July 2021.
- Lifted the unincorporated small business tax discount rate from 5 per cent in 2015-16 to 16 per cent from 2021-22 (up to the cap of $1,000).
- Extended the expanded instant asset write off to the end of June 2023, allowing businesses with turnover up to $5 billion to immediately deduct the full value of their eligible investment.
- Expanded access to 10 small business tax concessions by lifting the annual turnover threshold from $10 million to $50 million, cutting tax and red tape.
Red tape relief
- Delivered simplified Business Activity Statements, implemented Single Touch Payroll and will automate ATO reporting requirements - reducing compliance costs, improving processing times and supporting cash flow.
- Made it easier for businesses to employ their first worker with the online Hiring Employees Checklist and Employment Contract Tool that guides employers through a series of questions to generate an employment contract in five minutes.
Helping small businesses create jobs
- The Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidies have helped more than 68,000 employers hire over 190,000 new apprentices and trainees.
- A record 220,000 Australians are now in trade apprenticeships - the highest level since records began in 1963.
Helping small businesses go digital
- Committed around $3.5 billion in digital initiatives so Australia can become a top 10 digital economy by 2030.
- 35,000 small businesses have received digital support through the Digital Solutions – Australian Small Business Advisory Services program, which continues to provide access to low cost, high quality advice on a range of digital solutions.
Delivered affordable and reliable energy
- The ACCC’s December 2021 electricity inquiry report shows small business electricity costs have fallen 10 per cent over the past two financial years.
- The Morrison Government has provided around 1,000 energy efficiency grants to help small and medium businesses upgrade their equipment, increase energy productivity, reduce emissions and lower their power bills.
- Since we launched the Business Energy Advice Program in 2019, over 13,000 small businesses have accessed the service to learn more about their energy bills, to plan energy audits, identify energy savings opportunities and ultimately lower their power bills.
Levelling the playing field
- Introduced the Payment Times Reporting Scheme and launched the Payment Times Reporting Register to hold big business to account for improving payment times to small business.
- Introduced the Payment Times Procurement Connected Policy to deliver five-day payments to small business government contractors submitting an e-invoice.
- Delivered a major overhaul of the franchising framework, including the automotive franchising industry, to better protect small businesses.
- The new Franchise Disclosure Register is levelling the playing field, supporting prospective franchise buyers and current franchisees, and enabling professional advisers to support business decisions.
Boosted Government procurement
- Australian small and medium businesses are supplying a record share of goods and services to the Australian Government worth $18.7 billion.
- Small and medium businesses are winning 43 per cent of contracts worth up to $20 million, well above our target of 35 per cent.
Opened up global opportunities for small business
- Finalised 11 free trade agreements (FTAs) since 2013, lifting the share of Australia’s trade covered by FTAs from 27 per cent in 2013 to around 78 per cent now.
- We have helped Australian businesses to grow their exports through our reformed Export Market Development Grants scheme, with 2,600 new exporters applying to join the program.
Dedicated mental health support for small businesses
- Supported small business through tough times with the NewAccess for Small Business Owners’ mental health coaching program delivered by Beyond Blue, the BusinessBalance program and other financial counselling support hotlines.
The Risk of Labor
This election is a choice.
Over the last 30 years, Labor has delivered higher unemployment, higher interest rates and higher electricity prices. And not a single balanced budget.
Anthony Albanese has argued for higher taxes on retirees, small and family businesses, housing and inheritances.
Labor can’t say how they’ll pay for their promises. And they can’t manage money.
That means higher deficits and higher taxes.
Mr Albanese has never held a financial portfolio. He’s never held a national security portfolio. He’s never delivered a budget.
On major policy issues – like JobKeeper, taxes and mining and energy – he flip-flops.
Mr Albanese would be too weak to stand up to the Greens, to the unions, or for Australia’s national interest.
Labor’s team of union officials and political operatives just doesn’t get the economy.
Mr Albanese is the most left wing leader of the Labor Party in living memory.
In uncertain times, Australian small and family businesses can’t risk Labor.
When last in Government, Labor abolished the Entrepreneurs Tax Offset and failed to deliver a promised tax cut for small businesses.
In Opposition, Labor voted repeatedly against tax relief for small and medium businesses and went on to promise $387 billion of higher taxes at the 2019 election.Labor’s instinct is always to oppose lower taxes, including on small and medium businesses.
Labor’s Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said of our Enterprise Tax Plan at the time: “We are proud to oppose these tax cuts” (1) and “They are not worth the money” (2). Labor’s Shadow Finance Minister Katy Gallagher called the tax cuts legislation “an absolute disgrace” (3).
Labor has criticised the highly successful SME Recovery Loan Scheme.
When he was Shadow Small Business Minister, Labor’s Brendan O’Connor said “there has been little demand for the government’s failed $40 billion SME loan scheme” (4).
(1) Jim Chalmers, House of Representatives, Hansard, 23 March 2017.
(2) Jim Chalmers, House of Representatives, Hansard, 23 March 2017.
(3) Senator Katy Gallagher, Senate, Hansard, 30 March 2017.
(4) Brendan O’Connor, Op Ed Herald Sun, 6 October 2020.
With Mr Albanese as Opposition Leader:
- Labor voted in support of retrospectively making public the private and confidential information of thousands of Australian small businesses.
- Labor scuttled sensible attempts to improve Australia’s industrial relations laws during the pandemic.
Labor have no plan for Australian small business:
- Labor will return union lawlessness to the construction industry by abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission.
- Labor will go after the private and confidential tax information of small business owners.
- Labor’s changes to superannuation, award variations and workplace entitlements will make it more costly for small businesses to employ Australians.
- Labor will increase red tape and put their union mates in charge of small businesses.
COALITION |
LABOR |
Small Business Minister in Cabinet. |
When Labor left office, they did not have a Small Business Minister in Cabinet. |
Established the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman with more staff, funding and strong inquiry powers. |
When Labor left office, the Small Business Commissioner was ineffective. |
Tax cuts for small and medium businesses from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. |
$387 billion in new taxes at the 2019 election (including on more than 300,000 small and family businesses through changes to family trusts). Labor voted repeatedly against tax cuts for small and medium businesses. |
Carefully developed deregulation measures that have improved cash flow for small businesses. |
No policies on small business deregulation. |
Incentives for skills development and assistance to help small businesses navigate workplace laws. |
Attack after attack on small businesses over industrial laws. |
Lower energy costs and incentives for small businesses to become more energy efficient. |
Electricity prices doubled under Labor. |
COST
As part of the Plan for Small and Family Business, the Coalition is investing an additional $17.9 million in the Business Energy Advice program.
The Coalition’s Plan for Small and Family Business also includes funding for previously announced election commitments.
Funding for all other policies in the Coalition’s Plan for Small and Family Business is already provided for within budget estimates