News: Australia 2022/23 budget surplus set to be around A$20 bln - Treasurer, page-7

I am Not an insider to the Gov finances.

I have been out of public service for a long time, so I have no knowledge whether they are able to pay it off or have any intent on paying it off.

Gov is similar in many ways to a company, where a certain level of debt is actually good, to facilitate growth. But too much debt can drown it.

The $20B surplus they mentioned, is derived after interest payments on the debt. So as long as they can service the interest charges and still come up with a surplus, its good for us.

Its really a matter of opinion on whether we should use the surplus to pay off our debts. Email them if you feel strongly about it.