It’s that time of year again—Budget Night! The Treasurer gets up, delivers a speech packed with big numbers and even bigger promises, and political commentators spend hours picking apart the details. But what does it all actually mean? If you’ve ever found yourself nodding along to budget coverage while secretly wondering what on earth they’re talking about, this list is for you.
Here’s our top 20 of the jargon you’re about to hear.
1. Surplus vs Deficit
The government’s bank balance. If they’re bringing in more money than they’re spending, it’s a surplus. If they’re spending more than they’re earning, it’s a deficit (much more common). We already know tonight’s Budget will deliver a deficit.
2. Fiscal Policy
This is basically the government’s money plan—how they’ll tax us and what they’ll spend the money on. Think of it as the household budget, but instead of cutting back on avocado toast, they might be increasing spending on roads or hospitals.
3. Bracket Creep
A sneaky tax trap! When wages go up over time but tax brackets stay the same, people end up paying more tax, even though they’re not actually much better off. Governments either “fix” this with tax cuts or let it quietly boost their revenue.
4. Forward Estimates
The government’s best guess of how much money they’ll have (and spend) over the next four years. Like trying to predict your grocery bill in 2028. Usually shortened to “over the forwards”.
5. Consolidated Revenue Fund
Where all the tax dollars go before the government decides how to spend them. Think of it as the nation’s big piggy bank.
6. Underlying Cash Balance
This is the go-to measure of whether we’re in surplus or deficit, based on actual money coming in and going out. It’s like checking your bank balance at the ATM—real cash, no accounting tricks.
7. Contingency Reserve
A stash of cash set aside for unexpected expenses. Kind of like the government’s emergency fund for when things don’t go to plan.
8. Debt and Gross Debt
Governments borrow money just like businesses and individuals do. Gross debt is the total amount we owe, while net debt takes into account the assets we own that offset some of that debt.
9. Appropriations
Government speak for ‘spending money’. Appropriations Bills are the pieces of legislation that allow the Government to take (appropriate) tax payers money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to spend on stuff.
10. Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO)
The Budget’s half-yearly check-in. It’s like the government looking at the credit card statement in December and realising they might have overdone it on the spending. No one says it in full, just say ‘my-ee-foe’.
11. Fiscal Space
How much room the government has to splash cash before they need to start worrying about how they’re going to pay the bills. It’s like checking how much credit you have left on your credit card before you book a holiday.
12. Parameter and Other Variations
This is budget-speak for unexpected changes in spending and revenue due to things like population growth, inflation, or wage increases. Or more likely, changes in the Iron Ore price.
13. Decisions Taken But Not Yet Announced (DTBNYA)
These are government decisions that have already been made but aren’t ready for the public yet. Usually code for “we’re saving this as a surprise announcement closer to the election.” There will be lots of these this year!
14. Capped vs Uncapped Funding
A capped program has a fixed budget (e.g. a $500m grant pool), while an uncapped one grows based on demand (like Medicare rebates or welfare payments—people can keep claiming them no matter how many other people are claiming too).
15. Structural Deficit
This means the government is spending more than it earns even when the economy is strong—so it’s not just a temporary issue, but a long-term problem.
16. Recurrent vs Capital Spending
Recurrent spending is for ongoing costs (like public servant salaries), while capital spending is for one-off big-ticket items (like building a new hospital).
17. Productivity Growth
The magic ingredient that helps the economy grow without making people work longer hours. If productivity is up, the government gets more tax revenue without raising tax rates.
18. Indexation
A fancy word for adjusting payments (like pensions) in line with inflation so they keep up with the cost of living.
19. Public Debt Interest (PDI)
The interest bill on government debt. Like the minimum repayment on your mortgage, except the numbers have a lot more zeros.
20. Budget Papers
The Budget is made up of four budget papers – Budget Paper 1 is blah blah about the strategic overview and outlook, Budget Paper 2 is about the specific budget measures (and the one you’ll hear most about – that’s where all the election cash is), Budget Paper 3 is about federal-state financial relations and how much each state is getting, and Budget Paper 4 has the agency budgets, so how much each department has to spend – and includes their staffing levels. You can pretend to read all of them by downloading them here (they’ll be available once the speech starts tonight at 7.30pm)
So there you have it—your cheat sheet for Budget Night! Pour yourself a cuppa (or something stronger), settle in, and impress your friends by explaining what fiscal policy really means. Or just play Budget Night bingo and see how many of these terms you can spot! You can also follow along with us in our Budget Night live blog from 6pm.
Hear another term you don’t understand? The Parliamentary Budget office has a whole glossary here
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