The economy is struggling to make headway as mining investment sinks rapidly and non-mining investment remains in the doldrums.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to have fallen to 0.6 per cent in the December quarter, taking it to 2.65 per cent for the 12 months to December, according to an AAP survey of 16 economists.
That's below the nation's long-term trend rate of 3.2 per cent.
It's also worse than the September quarter's 0.9 per cent surge, which was one of the best results in the past three-and-a-half years.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will draw the line under 2015 on Wednesday when it releases its final quarter GDP report.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
ANZ co-head of Australian economics Felicity Emmett says a 2.7 per cent annual result would suggest the non-mining recovery is slowly gaining traction.
"The key question remains though, is it good enough?" she said.
Housing continues to be one of the country's key growth engines, while consumer spending and the labour market are improving.
"(But) business investment is weak, with mining investment falling away sharply and no pick-up in non-mining business investment in sight," she said.
A bonanza of quarterly data released this week, which feed into next week's national accounts, highlighted the huge impact the end of the mining investment boom is still having on the economy.
Mining-related engineering work is plummeting and economists doubt the construction sector can rely on other building work to take its place.
And capital expenditure figures offered no glimmers of hope, with businesses expecting to slash investment next year by more than they have for 25 years.
Meanwhile, average weekly earnings rose just 1.6 per cent in the year to November, falling behind a benign inflation rate of 1.7 per cent.
Ms Emmett said the outlook could now hinge on the strength of consumer spending to drive the recovery in non-mining activity.
"The Reserve Bank is relying on it. But are they too optimistic?" she said.
Ms Emmett said a number of GDP building blocks due out early next week could still swing the number around.
"We will finalise our forecast after the release of key profits, inventories, balance of payments and government spending data," she said.
ECONOMY SLOWS IN THE DEC QUARTER
* Median forecast for Dec qtr growth of 0.6pct
* Annual growth forecast to be 2.65 pct
* Dec qtr growth forecasts: 0.3pct to 0.8pct
(Source: AAP survey of 13 economists)
