Australia's budget will return to surplus before 2020, the government said on Tuesday, as part of its federal budget announcement, ahead of national polls next year.
Treasurer Scott Morrison also announced tax cuts for most people and spending plans for billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in the budget announcement.
"The government's plan for a stronger economy will put more money back in the pockets of Australians, create more jobs, continue to guarantee essential services and keep Australians safe," he said.
The current fiscal year, which ends on June 30, will see the country an estimated Aus$14.5bn (US$10.8bn) in deficit, but Morrison promised a modest surplus of Aus$2.2bn
in the 2019-20 fiscal year, one year earlier than previous predictions.
Australia has been accumulating deficits every year since the global financial crisis started in 2008. It had recorded a decade of surplus budgets before that.
The conservative coalition government, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, has seen regular losses in opinion polls lately. The budget announcement is seen as the unofficial start of next year's election campaign for the federal parliament.
The tax benefits will mostly go to low- and middle-income earners, as part of a seven-year plan which would have 94% of Australians on a 32.5% or less tax rate in 2024. 
The proposed tax cuts of up to Aus$530 a year will dent the budget by about Aus$140bn during the course of a decade.