Federal budget records small surplus over year to March

Paul Osborne | April 28, 2023

The federal budget was in surplus in the past year due to higher revenues and lower expenses, new figures show.

The underlying cash balance for the 12 months to March was $1.034 billion.

Economist Chris Richardson, from Rich Insights, told AAP while it was “wafer thin”, it represented a $204 billion turnaround in 25 months.

“The sheer size of that turnaround is stunning,” he said.

The two big drivers were the rising terms of trade and inflation.

“The world is giving Australia a stunning pay rise, but we are also getting more taxes because of inflation,” he said.

“Unemployment continues to be lower than expected, that is a notable improvement, and so too are interest payments.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers will deliver his second budget on May 9, against a backdrop of high inflation, rising interest rates and huge pressure to lift spending on health, aged care, disability services, defence and paying off debt.