A chief economist says Australians have not been spending their tax refunds after the National Australia Bank survey revealed low business confidence.

The survey showed an unchanged lack of confidence in the business market for the month of July.

NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster tells Ross Greenwood consumer confidence is low.

“There were a few parts of the survey we didn’t like much at all… You have to go back to the 1990s to get worse readings.

“Whatever people got, in terms of tax refunds, they didn’t spend it.

“If I’m optimistic they might spend it in August or September but they certainly didn’t spend it in July.”

Click PLAY to hear the full interview