Australia’s budget deficit came in 6 billion Australian dollars below forecast
Australia’s 2025–26 budget deficit came in 6 billion dollars below the 28.3 billion Australian dollars forecast in May. Treasurer Jim Chalmers attributed 4.6 billion dollars of the improvement to higher receipts and 1.4 billion dollars to lower payments. He said superannuation and investor income, rather than commodity prices or wage-tax receipts, drove the revenue surprise. The final result still left a deficit for the year ended June 2026.
Economics & Markets··Midday
Deficit improved by 6 billion dollars against May
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the underlying deficit for the 2025–26 financial year came in 6 billion Australian dollars below the May forecast. That budget had projected a deficit of 28.3 billion Australian dollars. The outcome remained a deficit; that figure measures the improvement against the earlier estimate. It concerns the year ended June 2026. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also referred to the 6 billion Australian dollar reduction relative to the May budget.[1], [2]
Higher receipts accounted for most of the gain
ABC reported that receipts were 4.6 billion Australian dollars above forecast while payments were 1.4 billion Australian dollars below it. Chalmers attributed the revenue increase mainly to higher-than-expected superannuation and investor income. He said the improvement did not come from commodity prices or more wage-tax receipts; mining profits were below what had been anticipated. Those two budget movements were recorded alongside the 6 billion Australian dollar change against May’s projection. They are components of the same final outcome for 2025–26.[1]
Lower payments included social programmes
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher named aged care, child care and the pharmaceutical benefits scheme among areas with lower-than-expected spending. Some national partnership payments were also below forecast. Chalmers said difficult months lay ahead despite the improvement in the final budget result. At the time of his remarks, the Reserve Bank of Australia had not yet announced the outcome of its next interest-rate meeting; a decision was expected the following day. The statements concern the 2025–26 final budget. They do not report a final result for the new financial year or a completed central-bank decision.[1]
