PolicyEngine Australia

PolicyEngine Australia#

Welcome to PolicyEngine Australia - a comprehensive microsimulation model of Australia’s tax and benefit system.

Overview#

PolicyEngine Australia models the Australian tax-benefit system, including:

  • Personal income tax with progressive brackets

  • Medicare levy and surcharge

  • HECS-HELP student loan repayments

  • Superannuation system

  • Age Pension with means testing

  • JobSeeker Payment

  • Family Tax Benefits (Parts A and B)

  • Child Care Subsidy

  • Disability Support Pension

  • And many more programs

Key Features#

  • Comprehensive Coverage: Models all major federal taxes and benefits

  • Up-to-date Parameters: Includes latest tax rates and benefit amounts

  • Government Sources: All parameters referenced to official sources

  • Test-Driven Development: Comprehensive test suite ensures accuracy

  • Open Source: AGPL-3.0 licensed for transparency

Quick Start#

from policyengine_au import AustralianTaxBenefitSystem
from policyengine_core.simulations import Simulation

# Create the tax-benefit system
system = AustralianTaxBenefitSystem()

# Define a household
situation = {
    "people": {
        "person1": {
            "age": {"2024": 35},
            "employment_income": {"2024": 80000}
        }
    },
    "households": {
        "household": {
            "members": ["person1"]
        }
    }
}

# Run simulation
simulation = Simulation(
    tax_benefit_system=system,
    situation=situation
)

# Calculate income tax
income_tax = simulation.calculate("income_tax", "2024")
print(f"Income tax: ${income_tax[0]:,.2f}")

Documentation Structure#

Contributing#

PolicyEngine Australia is open source and welcomes contributions. See our Developer Guide for information on:

  • Setting up a development environment

  • Adding new parameters or variables

  • Writing tests

  • Submitting pull requests

License#

PolicyEngine Australia is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.

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