The returns on Australian equities are set to grow in the long term, economist Don Stammer told the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia's (ASFA) annual post-budget briefing in Sydney yesterday.

"Dividends per share in Australia slumped last year ... but my guess is that we'll see a 30 per cent increase in dividends per share over three years," he said.

"I've given up on commenting on the short term but I'm very happy to comment on the long term, and my feeling is that over the next 30 years the average return on Australian shares will be 10 per cent a year."

Stammer said there were good opportunities for retail investors, particularly self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) investors, in Australian equities. He also saw opportunities for retail investors in the bond market.

"Australia has a very small amount of bonds on issue ... but moves have been made to revive the corporate bond market, particularly to bring in retail investors, and we have the tax break on interest income," he said.

As he has done for the past 30 years, Stammer also gave his federal budget report card. He said the deficit and the bonds on issue were very good relative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but he felt the budget was looking too far into future rather than the upcoming year.

He was also critical of the resource super profits tax (RSPT), labelling it as "badly framed".

"RSPT has been very much criticised and I think for a very good reason - super profits should not start at a risk-free tax rate," he said.