Fiscal Balance in Australia
Australia's fiscal position from 2013 to 2022 saw a mixture of surpluses and deficits. Initially, the government focused on reducing the deficit, achieving a near-balanced budget by 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 necessitated substantial fiscal stimulus, leading to a significant deficit. By 2022, efforts were underway to gradually reduce this deficit, translating into a budget surplus in the fiscal year ending in June 2023.
The fiscal balance in Australia averaged -2.1% of GDP in the decade to 2023, above the Asia-Pacific average of -3.6% of GDP. The fiscal balance in Australia in 2023 was 0.9% of GDP. For more fiscal balance information, visit our dedicated page.
Australia Fiscal Balance Chart
Note: This chart displays Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) for Australia from 2020 to 2015.
Source: Macrobond.
Australia Fiscal Balance Data
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) | 0.0 | -4.3 | -6.4 | -1.4 | 0.9 |
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Australian fiscal balance projections for the next ten years from a panel of 7 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable fiscal balance forecast available for Australian fiscal balance.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Australian fiscal balance projections.
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