Major party election commitments

Budget impacts over the forward estimates

The PBO’s estimates of the total combined budget impact of the election commitments of each major party and the resulting level of the underlying cash balance, headline cash balance and fiscal balance over the forward estimates against the PEFO baseline are shown in Table 2‑1.^[8]

Compared to PEFO, and if fully implemented over the forward estimates:

• Labor’s platform would result in slightly smaller underlying cash deficits in each year
• the Coalition's platform would initially result in larger underlying deficits, and then smaller deficits from 2027‑28, to result in a smaller deficit overall at the end of the forward estimates
• the Greens' platform would result in larger underlying cash deficits in all years from 2026‑27 and overall.

Table 2-1: Financial implications of election commitments by party, 2025-26 forward estimates, budget balances ($ billion)^[9]

Source: 2025 PEFO and PBO analysis.
Note: A positive impact indicates an improvement in the budget balance. A negative impact indicates a deterioration in the budget balance. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
..       Not zero but rounded to zero.

The impact on government debt is shown in Table 2‑2. A negative number indicates a decrease (improvement) in debt levels while a positive number indicates an increase (deterioration) in debt levels.

Table 2-2: Financial implications of election commitments by party, 2025-26 forward estimates, government debt ($ billion)

Source: 2025 PEFO and PBO analysis.
Note: A positive impact indicates an increase in debt levels. A negative impact indicates a reduction in debt level. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.