The Rudd government says the latest International Monetary Fund report shows Labor struck the right balance with its first budget.
The study says the government's responsible economic management has helped keep Australia's economy strong during the global financial crisis.
Directors of the IMF, in an annual appraisal of Australia released overnight, commended local authorities on their "impressive" economic management in the fiscal, monetary and structural areas which have spurred a long-lasting economic expansion.
"Directors considered that the sound macroeconomic framework should permit Australia to weather the global downturn and contain inflation pressures," it said.
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the report is encouraging.
“It welcome’s the government’s budget surplus,” she noted.
“It notes the resilience of the Australian banking system and it welcomes the government’s ambitious reform agenda through the Coalition of Australian Governments.”
Treasurer Wayne Swan described the report as a "very big tick" for the government's economic management.
"We are in a better position to withstand the fallout from these (international) events than, perhaps, any other country in the world," he told ABC Radio today.
"But we are not immune and it will certainly will have an impact on domestic growth, that certainly has an impact on employment growth and you will see, on our current budget forecasts, a modest increase in unemployment."
The government is forecasting the jobless rate will rise to 4.5 per cent on average in 2008-09, against a rate was of 4.1 per cent in August.
