For the first time, Australia's budget will start tracking its citizens' quality of life and wellbeing.
Along with the usual markers of economic health, such as gross domestic product, the first Albanese government budget will start monitoring education levels, health standards and the state of the environment.
The new section will see Australia follow the lead of other nations such as New Zealand, which have already laid out wellbeing indicators in their own budgets.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said economic growth, social mobility and personal wellbeing should be seen as complementary, not at odds.
"If you want a robust and resilient economy, you've got to have robust and resilient people and communities," he told AAP.
"This is my attempt to introduce a really hard-headed way of measuring what matters in our economy, but also in our society by having some agreed indicators of progress and success that we can update over time, and that keep governments up to the mark."
Australian National University professor Sharon Bessell said embedding these measurements into the budget process would help keep the government accountable.
"It's different to saying 'we care about wellbeing' in a press release," she said.
But Professor Bessell warned the results could take a long time to show up.
"We have such a large deficit and housing, health and schooling systems under incredible stress, so where it could fall apart is if we expect miracles overnight," she said.
"It could be transformative ... but we need to recognise it is going to take time."
Professor Bessell said each nation was likely to have different markers of wellbeing, and hoped to see child poverty, climate change, housing affordability and educational equity addressed in Australia's budget.
The treasurer will release more details on Tuesday night with a view to finalising the approach next year.
