Budget Deficits to Overshadow Australian Economy Over the Next 40 Years

Detail view of documents during the Budget lockup in Canberra, Australia, on May 9, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Australia will unlikely see a budget surplus in the next 40 years due to increasing government spending and slow economic growth, the latest Intergenerational Report (IGR) has found.

The Treasury Department released the 2023 IGR (pdf), which provides a snapshot of how the Australian economy and government’s budget are expected to evolve over the next four decades.