section_path: Prime Minister of Australia (2022–present)/Domestic affairs/Economy
section_name: Economy
paragraph_text: Economy
  
  Albanese's first term was dominated by Australia's cost-of-living crisis, attributed to the worldwide inflation surge of 2021–23. Monthly inflation peaked at a high of 8.4% in December 2022, and the Reserve Bank of Australia increased interest rates twelve times, reaching a rate of 4.35% by November 2023, the highest since 2011. In the 2023 Australian federal budget, the Albanese government delivered a surplus of $22.1 billion (equivalent to 0.9% of Australia's GDP); this was Australia's first budget surplus in 15 years, and the largest ever Australian budget surplus. In the 2024 budget, the government posted a second consecutive surplus of $9.3 billion. The budget returned to a $42.1 billion deficit in the 2025 budget.
  
  In January 2024, the Albanese government made changes to the previously legislated stage three tax cuts, which would see individuals earning less than A$150,000 receive a larger tax cut than under the original plan. These changes were met with some criticism, particularly by the Opposition and conservative media outlets, and was viewed as a breach of a pre-election promise, as Albanese had repeatedly stated he would not alter the tax cuts if elected. Despite this, the changes proved popular with the public, and the overhauled tax cuts were passed by the Senate on 27 February 2024. His government announced a further $17 billion in tax cuts in the 2025 budget, which will reduce the bottom tax bracket from 16% to 15% in 2026, and to 14% in 2027.