- 2025-26 Mid-year Review shows continued strength of the State's finances and economy
- Domestic economy grew by 3 per cent over the year to September, with the private sector accounting for two thirds of growth
- 2025-26 remains on track to deliver eighth consecutive operating surplus, revised up marginally to $2.5 billion from Budget
- Net debt was $3.4 billion lower at 30 June 2025 compared to Budget and remains lower than when the WA Labor Government came to office
- Cook Government continues to invest in what matters to Western Australians including housing, health and job creation
The 2025-26 MidyearReview has been released today showing the continued strength of Western Australia's economy and finances.
Despite ongoing global uncertainty, the WA economy continues to perform strongly, with the domestic economy growing by 3 per cent in the year to September, outpacing national growth.
Private sector investment was the main driver of the domestic economy, accounting for two-thirds of growth.
This continues WA's strong run, with the domestic economy growing by 26.7 per cent over the past five years, the strongest in the nation.
More than 351,000 jobs have been created since the WA Labor Government came to office in 2017, with 1.65 million Western Australians now in work.
The Mid-year Review continues to highlight the Cook Government's strong financial management, with the State on track to record an eighth consecutive operating surplus in 2025-26.
An operating surplus of $2.5 billion is now projected for 2025-26, marginally higher than at Budget.
The Mid-year Review also shows net debt at 30 June 2025 was $3.4 billion lower than forecast in the 2025-26 State Budget.
Net debt is currently $30.1 billion - and despite $62 billion of asset investment over the last eight years - it remains lower than when the WA Labor Government came to office.
When the Labor Government came to office in 2017, net debt to Gross State Product was the highest in the nation at 13.8 per cent and climbing. It has since halved and is now the lowest in the nation at 6.6 per cent.
Western Australia remains the only State or Territory with a tripleA credit rating from both S&PGlobal and Moody's Investors Services.
The Cook Government has used its strong financial position to invest in what matters for Western Australians, with the 2025-26 Mid-year Review including:
- $1.9 billion boost to health services, including $1.5 billion for the Building Hospitals Fund increasing investment in health infrastructure to a record of almost $5 billion over the next four years;
- an additional $435 million for housing, lifting the additional investment to boost housing and improve affordability to $6.3 billion over the last five years. This includes an additional $234 million for 329 new social homes, increasing the pipeline to over 6,600 social and affordable homes;
- $502 million for community services, including $300 million for the WA Stolen Generations Redress Scheme and $110.5 million for family and domestic violence services;
- $623 million for community safety, with $181.1 million to expand Acacia Prison, $147 million to deliver a new youth detention facility, and $79.7 million in initiatives to boost road safety;
- $164.5 million in additional cost-of-living initiatives including extending the Regional Airfare Zone Cap, broadening the Patients Assisted Travel Scheme, support for households experiencing hardship with energy bills, and extending the WA Rent Relief Program. This is on top of the record $963 million investment in the 2025-26 Budget; and
- various economic development and decarbonisation initiatives, including $171.3 million to activate more industrial land and headworks.
The MidyearReview is available from the Department of Treasury and Finance website at: www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-treasury-and-finance
As stated by Treasurer Rita Saffioti:
"Despite ongoing global uncertainty, the Western Australian economy continues to outpace the nation.
"We're on track to deliver an eighth consecutive operating surplus this financial year. These surpluses have helped fund our investment in infrastructure, which has now totalled more than $62 billion in the last eight years.
"Despite this investment, net debt remains lower than when we came to government. In fact, relative to the size of our economy, we've gone from the worst in the nation when the Liberals and Nationals left office in 2017, to the best.
"At the same time, we continue to invest in what matters to Western Australians. We're investing record amounts in new hospitals and expansions, increasing our spend to boost housing supply and improve affordability, creating more jobs and supporting Western Australian households to manage cost-of-living pressures."
