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Budget 2026

Chalmers’ budget is ambitious, but it doesn’t solve Australia’s biggest fiscal problem

It may take several budget cycles for the Albanese government to truly achieve reform.

Jennifer Duke
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Without structurally changing the tax mix, future generations will be left shouldering the growing cost of paying down the nation’s debt. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers used his budget night centrepiece, a 13-page speech, to focus on two issues: “resilience and reform”.

“What’s happening overseas makes the reform task more urgent, not less,” Chalmers said, speaking to the media at a press conference held during the budget lock-up.

But it may take several more budget cycles before the federal government can claim it has fully achieved this aim.

Because while the 2026 budget has delivered a much more ambitious suite of changes than many were expecting, at least until very recently, Chalmers has not yet solved the fundamental intergenerational problem with the nation’s budget — its reliance on income taxes for revenue.