Big banks will be hit with a $6.2bn levy and businesses employing foreign workers will pay $1.2bn in two massive revenue-raising measures from corporate Australia unveiled in the budget.

The levy on businesses using foreign workers will fund up to 300,000 apprenticeships and traineeships over four years but the bank levy is a straight tax grab to go into general revenue.

Banks and financial institutions will also be policed by a new consumer body and subject to other accountability measures, as the government attempts to find a credible alternative to persistent demands for a banking royal commission.

In his budget speech the treasurer, Scott Morrison, said the bank levy was a “fair contribution from our major banks, similar to measures imposed in other advanced countries” and said it would “even up the playing field for smaller banks”.

The bank levy will apply from 1 July to deposit-taking institutions with licensed entity liabilities of $100bn or more, indexed to gross domestic product.

The big four banks – ANZ, Westpac, NAB and Commonwealth – will each pay in the region of $300m to $400m every year under the levy, Treasury officials said. Only they and Macquarie, the fifth-largest bank, will pay the levy at present, which does not apply to superannuation funds or insurance companies.

Banks will have to pay 0.015% of their licensed entity liabilities each quarter, for a total levy of 0.06% a year. It will raise $6.2bn over four years.

Morrison said the measure would not apply to home loans and customer deposits of less than $250,000, meaning that unlike the previous bank deposit tax it was not a levy on ordinary deposit accounts.

The government would create a Australian financial complaints authority, to “resolve disputes and obtain binding outcomes” from banks and other financial institutions, Morrison said. It would be “more accessible and affordable” for customers.

Afca will be industry funded and the budget papers say it will be “free, fast and binding” and hear disputes of higher value than the three existing schemes it replaces – the financial ombudsman service, the credit investments ombudsman and the superannuation complaints tribunal.

The government will require senior bank executives to register with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, which can deregister them, disqualify them from executive positions and even strip them of bonuses for breaches of laws or systemic failures in their banks.

Banks will face bigger fines of $50m for small banks and $200m for big banks for breaching rules and will also be held to account if they try to hide executives’ misconduct.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will undertake a residential mortgage banking inquiry until 30 June. It will be able to require banks to explain changes to mortgage prices, fees and interest rates.

The ACCC will also receive $13.2m to establish a unit to regularly inquire into financial system competition.

The government will create a $1.5bn “skilling Australians fund”, paid for, in part, by a $1.2bn levy on businesses that employ foreign workers, to apply from March 2018.

Businesses with a turnover of more than $10m will have to pay $5,000 upfront for each employee on a permanent work visa and $1,800 for each employee on a temporary skill shortage visa, the replacement for the current 457 visa class.

Businesses with a turnover of less than $10m will pay lower rates: $3,000 for employees on permanent work visas and $1,200 for employees on temporary skill shortage visas.

The skills fund will pay for up to 300,000 trade apprenticeships and traineeships in high-demand sectors and industries relying on skilled foreign workers.

In 2017-18 the fund will get $261.2m more than raised by the levy, but after 2018-19 it will rely on funding exclusively from the levy.

Despite the two new revenue hits the news is not all bad for business. The budget confirms the government’s intention to legislate the rest of its $48bn 10-year company tax cut plan, and continues the $20,000 instant asset write-off facility for small businesses below $10m turnover for another year.

The government estimates it will raise $318m in revenue by extending a black economy crackdown to contractors in the courier and cleaning industries. Businesses in these industries will be required to report payments to contractors to the Australian Taxation Office, as occurs in the building and construction industry.

The ATO will also get $32m for one year’s funding to continue policing the black economy in two programs targeted at businesses with less than $15m turnover. The budget papers estimate these programs will achieve a net gain of $447.2m.