This bold budget has grasped the nettle of tax and housing – but it may not be enough to move the needle for younger Australians | Tom McIlroy

Jim Chalmers, determined not to miss his reform moment more than four years into government, has backed the largest change to Australia’s sclerotic tax system since the Howard era Federal budget 2026 LIVE updates: Australia government budget announcement and speech – latest news Explore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverage Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast By his own assessment, Jim Chalmers’ fifth federal budget is the most important and most ambitious from an Australian government in decades. Buffeted by the global energy shock, the treasurer describes Tuesday night’s spending package as five budgets in one. The plan, he says, improves resilience against international shocks; helps with cost-of-living pressures; delivers badly overdue tax reform; boosts productivity and gets right the balance between savings and new spending. But – for all its virtue – Labor’s moves to rebalance the country’s intergenerational compact might take too long for young Australians locked out of the housing market. Worse, efforts to ride the waves of disruption emanating from the war in Iran could easily come unstuck if Donald Trump makes the crisi