Budget like painting Harbour Bridge:Fraser

The head of Treasury would like his department to start the annual budget process up to seven months earlier.

The head of Treasury would like his department to start the annual budget process months earlier. (AAP)

Treasury boss John Fraser has likened putting together the federal budget to painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge - it never ends.

Mr Fraser told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra that he would like to start the May budget process earlier, in November, in terms of macroeconomic settings.

"The budget process for Treasury ... is a bit like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge, you never stop and I just thought it may be worth exploring whether we could start the process a little bit earlier," he said on Monday.