Labor Says Budget in Better State Than Expected, Deficit Falls to $10 Billion

Opposition brands the claim ’spin,' saying bracket creep and windfalls, not discipline, drove the result.

Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers (Front R) and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher (Front L) arrive for the budget lock-up at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 14, 2024. Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

Treasury has declared the nation’s finances are in far better shape than projected, pointing to the latest Final Budget Outcome (FBO) for 2024–25.

The report shows an underlying cash deficit of just under $10 billion (US$6.6 billion), or 0.4 percent of GDP. That compares with a forecast of $27.9 billion in the 2025 pre-election economic and fiscal outlook (PEFO) and $47.1 billion in the 2022 PEFO.