Portfolio — 3 May 2026

Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino used a pre-Budget media release to lay out the government's principal spending and reform commitments ahead of the upcoming Budget, framing the fiscal package as the delivery of election promises across health, cost-of-living relief, intergenerational fairness, and national security. Funding for Urgent Care Clinics is flagged as a centrepiece measure [TA-260503-treasu-49e8f93f369a], placing health access at the front of the Budget narrative.

On household finances, Mulino confirmed the Budget will deliver a further round of income tax cuts, described as building on two rounds already legislated and delivered [TA-260503-treasu-49e8f93f369a].

The intergenerational-fairness thread drew together two distinct instruments: a 20 percent reduction in HECS fees and a 5 percent first-home-buyer deposit scheme that Mulino said has already been taken up by more than 300,000 people. The pairing signals a deliberate effort to anchor the Budget's equity argument in concrete uptake figures rather than projections, spanning education and housing domains simultaneously.

On national security, Mulino departed from the standard Treasury brief to cover two related commitments: increased funding for ASIO, ASIS and the Australian Signals Directorate since the government took office, and full acceptance of the Royal Commission's interim report recommendations on counter-terrorism, to be implemented through the relevant portfolios [TA-260503-treasu-49e8f93f369a].

The inclusion of security-agency funding and Royal Commission implementation in a Treasury media release is notable — it suggests the Budget will be presented not only as a fiscal document but as a whole-of-government delivery vehicle across Home Affairs and security portfolios.

Taken together, the release maps a Budget pitch across at least four portfolio domains — health, Treasury, education and housing, and national security — while maintaining the Assistant Treasurer as the central communicator. No parliamentary activity was recorded for Mulino on this date; the comms stream is the sole source for this Note.