The past financial year delivered a $22.1 billion budget surplus, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
The final budget confirmed the first surplus in the past 15 years, and in dollar terms, the biggest surplus ever, Chalmers said.
The surplus amounted to 0.9 per cent of Australia's GDP.
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Chalmers said that it was a $100 billion turnaround in a year.
"This is the biggest turnaround in history," he said.
But he said the government would not be self-congratulatory about it.
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"A surplus is not an end in itself, it's a foundation from which we help people," he said.
"The pressures on the budget into the future are intensifying rather than easing.
He said a deficit was anticipated this year.
More to come.
