It will be at least a decade before the federal budget is balanced, according to the country's leading economists, who want the government to bring forward tax cuts and promise infrastructure spending on October 6 to arrest a forecast 8 per cent unemployment rate and lift the economy out of recession by the end of the year.

The economy is on track for a record $225 billion deficit in financial 2021, and reforms will be needed to achieve fiscal repair, economists agree ahead of the federal budget on Tuesday next week.