Firms say they are feeling more upbeat, despite the patchy economic recovery.
The ANZ Bank's latest monthly survey of sentiment shows optimism is growing, with a net 31.6% of firms expecting their own business to grow in the next year, compared with a 25.5% percent saying in the previous month that they expected a pick-up.
ANZ's chief economist, Cameron Bagrie, says profitability, and employment and invesment intentions rose, while inflation expecations fell to their lowest level since 1999.
Overall, a net 26.4% of respondents expect the economy to improve over the year ahead, compared with a net 17.2% percent in the previous month.