Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is expecting a federal budget surplus of $4.1 billion in mid-2020, almost double the $2.2 billion projected in the May budget. He is also forecasting a smaller deficit of $5.2 billion in the current financial year, more than half the original forecast of $14.5 billion deficit for 2018/19. The improvements - outlined in a budget update published on Monday - come after the government has raked in more revenue than expected, buoyed by strong employment growth and corporate tax receipts. It's expecting 2.5 per cent wage growth in 2018/19 and three per cent in 2019/20. "In Australia, as in other advanced economies, the response of wages to improving labour market conditions had been slower and more muted than in past cycles," the budget update states.

Source: Daily Mail December 16, 2018 22:07 UTC