Prime Minister Julia Gillard does not believe the flood damage bill will stop the federal government from delivering a budget surplus in 2012/13.
Ms Gillard has promised to produce Labor's first budget surplus since 1989, but the bottom line will face pressure from the flood clean-up and reduced revenues.
Visiting Wagga Wagga on Wednesday, Ms Gillard told reporters there would be "many, many long months of recovery" for flood-hit areas.
She said the damage bill could not be calculated until the floodwaters subsided and assessments could be made of roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
But she said the federal government would do what was necessary to get communities back on track without jeopardising the budget's bottom line.
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"As a government we've always made the decisions necessary to find the resources to support communities in need, and we will keep taking that approach," Ms Gillard said.
She said the Australian economy remained strong and had a positive outlook due to the resources boom and growth in Asia.
"When we deliver the budget in May this year we expect the outlook for the economy to be one of solid growth, and in a solid growth economy the right thing to do is to return the budget to surplus, and we remain determined to do that," she said.
Ms Gillard said her heart went out to people whose homes and businesses had been damaged.
