The Albanese Government’s responsible budget strategy has seen Australia become one of the top ranked economies in the world for fiscal management in 2024, according to figures released by the International Monetary Fund.
Australia is expected to have the third strongest budget balance as a share of GDP among G20 countries in 2024, and up from 14th in 2021 under the Coalition according to the IMF Fiscal Monitor.
This is a big vote of confidence in Labor’s management of the nation’s finances.
From 14th to a podium finish in less than one term is a powerful demonstration of our responsible economic management.
Our budget has become one of the best in the world under the Albanese Government and that’s what this data shows.
We’re getting the budget in better nick and paying down billions of dollars of Liberal debt.
Our responsible economic management has helped in the fight against inflation and has helped make room in the budget for things that matter like healthcare, aged care, and defence.
Under the Albanese Government, Australia is ranked ahead of all G7 economies on budget management in 2024, including the US, UK, Canada, France and Germany.
Since the election, Australia has seen one of the biggest budget improvements of the G20.
Australia also has the fifth lowest gross debt to GDP ratio in the G20 in 2024, a position which improved in 2023, and has been maintained since then.
The 2024 budget balance ranking for Australia has also improved since the April projections.
This endorsement of Labor’s responsible economic management comes after the Final Budget Outcome for 2023‑24 which confirmed the Albanese Government delivered the first back‑to‑back surpluses in nearly two decades.
The underlying cash surplus of $15.8 billion (0.6 per cent of GDP) for 2023‑24 followed the $22.1 billion (0.9 per cent of GDP) surplus delivered in 2022‑23.
In dollar terms, these were the biggest back-to-back surpluses on record, meaning the Albanese Government has delivered the largest nominal improvement in the budget position in a Parliamentary term.
If we took the same approach as our predecessors, we wouldn’t have come close to delivering back-to-back surpluses.
The budget position has improved by $172.3 billion across the past two years compared to what we inherited from our predecessors.
The government’s budget strategy strikes the right balance between fighting inflation, rolling out responsible cost-of-living relief, supporting growth in our economy and strengthening public finances.
We’ve delivered two surpluses at the same time as we’ve rolled out responsible cost-of-living relief including tax cuts for every taxpayer, energy bill relief for every household, cheaper medicines, cheaper child care and the first consecutive real increases to the maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance in three decades.
Our economic plan is all about easing the cost of living and fighting inflation at the same time as we lay the foundations for a stronger economy for the future, and back-to-back budget surpluses help on each of these fronts.