Solid gross domestic product and jobs growth in the second half of last year will likely roll into this year, according to a survey.
The MasterCard Consumer Confidence index rose 2.9 points to 42.4 points in the second half of 2015, the highest level since the second half of 2013.
Economist Saul Eslake said the results aligned with the improving tone of the Australian economy over the same period, signalling solid growth will continue in the first half of 2016.
"The pickup in the pace of overall economic growth in the second half of last year should be sustained throughout the first half of the year (2016)," Mr Eslake said.
He said the main driver of confidence was the labour market's improvement.
The index measure of consumers' perceptions of employment rose by 7.4 points to 39, the highest level since the second half of 2013.
"The latest result points to further job gains," Mr Eslake said.
The index showed women had a more pessimistic outlook than men, continuing the trend of the past decade.
Survey respondents under the age of 30 had the biggest improvement of confidence, up 12.7 points to 59.9, while the confidence of respondents aged 30-44 dropped by 6.1 points to 39.3.
People aged over 45 were still the most pessimistic, with their confidence rising only 1.0 point to 28.2 in the second half of 2016.
Mr Eslake said the reason for the disparity wasn't apparent as younger people were more likely to be unemployed, earned less and were less likely to own a home or have superannuation savings.
"Perhaps they simply had less time to become worried about things that concern older generations," he added.
