Victoria is recovering from the economic and fiscal shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant fiscal stimulatory initiatives and a large infrastructure pipeline are improving the economic outlook but are weighing heavily on the Australian state's budgetary performance. We expect after-capital deficits to narrow but remain substantially higher than in the past. This is leading to elevated debt levels. We affirmed our 'AA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term ratings on Victoria. The outlook is stable. On March 16, 2022, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'AA' long-term foreign currency and local currency ratings and 'A-1+' short-term issuer credit rating on the Australian state of Victoria. The outlook is stable. The stable outlook incorporates our expectation that Victoria's after-capital account balance will partially
