The Government is delivering on its plan for economic growth and jobs, with the budget maintaining an improving trajectory consistent with the Government's fiscal strategy. The budget is projected to return to surplus in 2020-21, the same year as at the 2016 Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO).

The net impact of decisions taken since the 2016 PEFO is an improvement to the underlying cash balance of $2.5 billion over the forward estimates. The Government has also made significant headway in legislating measures to repair the budget, with over $22 billion of budget repair measures implemented since the election. The Australian economy continues to transition from the investment phase to the production phase of the mining boom.

Economic growth is expected to increase over the forecast period, as the drag from the decline in mining investment dissipates and the economy transitions to broader-based growth, supported by historically low interest rates and a lower Australian dollar.