Company directors are so confident about the economic outlook it could be the turning point, after a sustained period of flat wage growth.
Research by the Australian Institute of Company Directors released on Thursday also found half of bosses put the need for reform of personal taxation ahead of company tax changes.
The six-monthly director sentiment index produced by the institute shows confidence at its highest level in at least seven years.
Such optimism also expands to the outlooks for the US and European economies.
Almost three-in-five directors expect their businesses to expand over the coming year, are optimistic about the wage outlook and anticipate a further decline in the jobless rate.
The institute's chairman Elizabeth Proust said these positive results come at a time of the strongest employment results since 1994.
"So the fact that directors are so confident about employment and wages growth over the coming 12 months suggests the economy may be turning a corner after a sustained period of flat wage growth and investment," Ms Proust said on Thursday.
However, the survey also calls for politicians to lift their game with 83 per cent rating the quality of public debate as poor or very poor.
It urges less focus on short-termism while expressing an urgent need to address energy policy.
"Directors clearly feel the current impasse over energy policy is holding us back, but in the long-term infrastructure remains the big-ticket item to grow our productivity and prosperity," the institute's managing director and CEO Angus Armour says.
On taxation reform, half nominated personal tax as the top priority, followed by company tax (47 per cent), multinational tax arrangements (43 per cent) and state-based taxes such as payroll tax (43 per cent)
Of the boards themselves, 53 per cent of directors said they were actively seeking to increase gender diversity.
