Report card: Albanese's record on 2022 commitments
Business News looks at the promises Anthony Albanese took to the polls in 2022 and whether, three years on, he has delivered.
Business and Industrial Relations
National anti-corruption commission
Ahead of the 2019 election, Scott Morrison pledged to create a federal anti-corruption commission.
The draft released for public consultation was labelled ‘Australia’s weakest watchdog’, and the Coalition subsequently decided to scrap plans to legislate.
In the lead up to the 2022 election, Labor promised to establish a similar body, which Anthony Albanese promised would have greater powers than the Coalition’s model.
This was delivered through legislation passed on November 30 2022.
Verdict: Delivered
Energy
Lower energy bills by $275
Probably the most high-profile unfulfilled commitment by the Albanese government has been its promise to reduce power bills by $275 per year by 2025.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has highlighted this failure at almost every public appearance on the campaign trail.
The graph above shows steep declines in energy prices during 2024. However, that was largely due to state and federal energy bill relief payments.
Without the energy bill relief payments, made in July 2023, July 2024, August 2024, October 2024, December 2024 and January 2025, prices have remained near steady.
Verdict: Failed
Healthcare
Reduce the price of PBS medicine
In the lead up to the 2022 election, the Coalition promised to lower the cost of prescription medicines by $10 per script.
In response, Labor pledged to lower the per script price by $12.50, from $42.50 to $30. This was delivered on January 1 2023 when the co-payment for four out of five PBS scripts were discounted.
Mr Albanese has pledged that, if re-elected in 2025, all PBS-listed drugs would be capped at a maximum of $25 per script.
Verdict: Delivered
More Urgent Care Clinics
Labor also promised to create 50 Urgent Care Clinics around the country.
To date, 87 UCCs have been delivered around the country, and Mr Albanese has committed to opening 50 more, should he be re-elected.
The urgent care clinics, however, have not come without criticism, with a council of seven peak bodies for doctors – including the Royal College of General Practitioners – releasing a joint statement against more UCCs being opened in October.
The college's president, Michael Wright, said the UCC model had not been properly evaluated to assess whether it provided value for money.
“Spending millions setting up new clinics is not value for taxpayers’ money. There are reports that each visit to an urgent care clinic cost approximately $200 per head,” he said.
“This is cheaper than a visit to a hospital emergency department, but it’s far more expensive than if the patient is treated by a GP, which for a standard consult costs a little over forty-two dollars.
“We do not support ongoing investment without the evidence that it works.”
There are also concerns the push for more clinics could place further pressure on an already stretched healthcare workforce.
Verdict: Delivered
Housing
Help to Buy Scheme
Prior to the 2022 election, Mr Albanese committed to creating a shared equity scheme, the ‘help to buy scheme’ to aid 10,000 households per year into home ownership.
Under the scheme, the government essentially takes a 30 per cent stake of an existing home, or a 40 per cent stake of a new home, which the owner can then buy out over time.
The scheme was subject to a prolonged political battle during which the Greens demanded reform to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions in return for their support.
This was rejected by Labor.
In early November 2024, The Greens reduced their demands to instead call for funding for an extra 25,000 social and affordable homes. This was also rejected.
Later that month, The Greens dropped those demands and voted in favour of the scheme, despite failing to win any concessions for their support.
So, the legislation has been delivered, albeit two and a half years after the election, and with applications not expected to open until later this year.
During the 2025 campaign, Mr Albanese pledged to lift places in the scheme from 10,000 per year to 40,000; and to lift the income cap to access the scheme from $90,000 to $100,000 for singles, and from $120,000 to $160,000 for couples or single parents.
Verdict: Partially delivered
Housing Australia Future Fund
Another housing scheme Mr Albanese committed to prior to the 2022 election was the Housing Australia Future Fund, which aimed to build 20,000 new social housing units and 10,000 affordable homes over five years, delivered through Housing Australia.
The HAFF was established in late 2023, and as of March 31, 2025, Housing Australia has entered into 91 funding agreements for the delivery of 8,246 social and affordable homes.
Preferred applicants have been chosen for a further 92 projects for the delivery of 5,565 social and affordable homes.
Verdict: Semi-delivered.
Childcare
Increase childcare subsidies
In 2022 the Morrison government increased childcare subsidies by 30 per cent for families with two or more children up to a maximum of 95 per cent.
Labor matched that commitment and said it would extend the subsidy changes to families with one child in childcare but capped at 5 per cent lower at 90 per cent.
Labor also committed to extending subsidies to more wealthy families by lifting the means test cut off from a combined income of $354,305 to $530,000.
Labor did deliver on that promise and has now committed to scrapping the activity test – which determines the level of subsidies parents get based on the number of hours they work or volunteer in a fortnight – if re-elected in 2025.
Verdict: Delivered
Tax and income
Tax offset for low-and-middle income workers
Labor fulfilled its commitment to retain the Coalition’s one-off $420 increase to the low-and-middle-income tax offset.
Remove fringe benefit tax on non-luxury low-emissions vehicles
The Albanese government fulfilled its promise to remove fringe benefits tax on electric vehicles when it based the Electric Car Discount Bill on November 28 2022.
Verdict: Delivered
Get real wages moving
Prior to the 2022 election, Labor promised to get real wages – wage growth adjusted for inflation - “moving again”, although no target was provided.
Whether this commitment was properly fulfilled is up for debate. Annual real wages have been increasing for the most recent five quarters; however, it followed six quarters of far larger real wage decline.
Verdict: Delivered
No tax reform aside from multinationals
Following Labor’s loss at the 2019 election, in which the party campaigned on major structural reform to the taxation system, and prior to the 2022 election, then shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers pledged to not introduce any reforms to tax, aside from those relating to loopholes exploited by multinational companies to avoid paying tax.
However, in 2023, Dr Chalmers revealed Treasury was working on options to reform the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax.
Changes were eventually introduced in August 2024, limiting annual deductions for expenditure at 90 per cent of the project’s income per year.
The 40 per cent PRRT has failed to raise significant revenue due to concessions for the exploration and development of gas fields, which can be carried forward and deducted as tax credits against future liabilities.
As a result, Business News views the commitment to not introduce tax reform as failed.
Verdict: Failed
Other
Robodebt royal commission
Labor delivered on its promise to establish a royal commission into Robodebt; an easy commitment to deliver on, given the Greens backed it, which gave a voice to those impacted by the scheme introduced by the Morrison Coalition government.
Verdict: Delivered
