In the wake of September’s Federal election, a new survey has found business confidence is now at its highest level since 2010.
The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence Survey, which conducted 3,000 interviews with business of different sizes across various industries around Australia, found that the level of confidence has risen another 2 points since September.
Nigel Smith, director of business research at Roy Morgan, said that the figures reflect the change in government.
“While sources such as the Reserve Bank appear to forecast the next 12 months to be particularly tough for Australian businesses, businesses themselves do not appear to share this pessimism,” Smith said.
Queensland had the steepest rise in business confidence, followed by NSW, while Tasmania and Victoria recorded the smallest increases.
The survey also found that the number of businesses reporting they’re better off now than they were at this time last year is higher than the number reporting they’re worse off is the highest it’s been since April 2011.
Over 75 per cent of businesses expect Australia to enjoy good times financially over the next twelve months, while 80 per cent are positive about the outlook over the next five years.
Businesses in the mining industry are especially confident, with the administrative and support services sector also recording a significant increase in confidence.
“The mining industry clearly believes the change in government will have a beneficial impact on their businesses, despite what appears to be an otherwise negative outlook for that industry,” Smith said.
