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Federal budget expectations
Q. The Federal Budget will be announced on Tuesday 6th October.
In general, do you expect the Federal Budget will be good or bad for the following?
Oct’20 | Mar’19 | |||||||
NET: Very Good / Good | Neither good, nor bad | NET: Very bad / Bad | Don’t know | NET: Very Good / Good | Neither good, nor bad | NET: Very bad / Bad | Don’t know | |
Big business | 53% | 26% | 12% | 9% | – | – | – | – |
People who are well off | 51% | 30% | 10% | 8% | 58% | 23% | 9% | 10% |
Small business | 44% | 26% | 23% | 7% | – | – | – | – |
The economy overall | 34% | 27% | 32% | 7% | 35% | 33% | 24% | 9% |
Australian families | 33% | 31% | 29% | 7% | 27% | 32% | 33% | 9% |
Older Australians | 31% | 28% | 34% | 7% | 25% | 28% | 38% | 9% |
Average working people | 30% | 29% | 34% | 6% | 31% | 30% | 30% | 9% |
People on lower incomes | 30% | 23% | 40% | 6% | 26% | 32% | 31% | 10% |
Younger Australians | 29% | 31% | 33% | 8% | 24% | 25% | 42% | 10% |
You personally | 25% | 36% | 31% | 8% | 19% | 37% | 34% | 9% |
- Budget expectations are in line with March 2019, showing people are not expecting drastically different announcements this week.
- Over half of people think big business (53%), and those who are well-off (51%) to benefit from the budget, while the losers are expected to be those on a lower income (40% expect these to have a bad/very bad budget), older Australians (34%) and younger Australians (33%).
- More people expect the budget announcement to be bad for them than good. A quarter of people think the budget will benefit them personally (25% think the budget will be good/very good), which is less than those expecting it to be bad/very bad for them (31%).
By voting preference
NET:
Very good / Good |
Total | Vote Labor | Vote Liberal / National | Vote Greens | NET: Vote Other |
Big business | 53% | 62% | 47% | 68% | 58% |
People who are well off | 51% | 62% | 41% | 67% | 56% |
Small business | 44% | 41% | 55% | 36% | 33% |
The economy overall | 34% | 31% | 43% | 31% | 26% |
Australian families | 33% | 30% | 43% | 28% | 23% |
Older Australians | 31% | 27% | 39% | 34% | 23% |
Average working people | 30% | 25% | 43% | 19% | 23% |
People on lower incomes | 30% | 27% | 40% | 24% | 17% |
Younger Australians | 29% | 25% | 37% | 24% | 27% |
You personally | 25% | 22% | 32% | 27% | 18% |
- Labor and Greens voters are more likely than Coalition voters to expect a favourable budget for Big businesses (62% and 68% of Labor and Greens voters respectively, to 47% of Coalition) and for those well-off (62% and 67% to 41%.
- For all other groups, Coalition voters are more likely to expect a good budget than Labor or Greens.
- 32% of Coalition voters think they will have a good budget. This was higher than Labor (22%), Greens (27%) or those voting for another independent/minor party (18%).

COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Download this week's ReportEssential Report
Two Party Preferred:
Labor
45%
Coalition
48%
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Top Federal Government priorities for 2021
- Uptake of a Covid-19 vaccine
- Perceptions of change in the standard of living for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Changing views towards Australia Day
- Support towards a separate national day
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