In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29.
Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day.
Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly.
The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending.
Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26.
Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services.
"This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament.
"It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side."
The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service.
But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions.
More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim.
"That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters
"There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000."
Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion.
The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028.
Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and
Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform.
"A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said.
Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business.
"This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said.
The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt.
"The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said.
Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline".
KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET:
* Net operating result: $600 million surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29
* Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29
* Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29
* Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29
* Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29
* Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29
* Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29
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