Ms Kitchen said businesses wanted a clear result "one way or the other" at the coming federal election, more so than a victory for a particular party.

A survey of CEOs, conducted by KPMG, found dealing with regulation and Australia's political paralysis were among their "top-of-mind" concerns in 2018.

Although the business community had challenges on the horizon this year, Ms Kitchen said, business leaders were cautiously positive about the outlook and expected economic growth opportunities to continue, "particularly in the second half of the year, following the Australian federal election".

Christine O'Reilly, a prominent business leader who sits on the boards of companies including CSL, Transurban, Medibank and Stockland said a disconnect had emerged between business and government.

"I'm hopeful that we will see business and government work in a very focused way," Ms O'Reilly said. "I think there are some concerns around that."

Ms Reilly said meaningful consultation was needed in respect to "what has to change and what is going to impact and help our economy".

As a CSL director, she said, she would like improvements in Australia's global tax competitiveness, greater support for research and development and a greater focus on retaining talent in Australia.

CSL been calling for the federal government to give scientists greater support and maintain tax incentives for companies investing in research and development.

The Morrison government has been on a collision course with many Australian business giants, particularly on the issues of global warming inaction and energy, following the collapse National Energy Guarantee last year. Energy and emissions-reduction policies action are shaping up to be major battleground issues ahead of next year's federal election.

Federal Jobs Minister Kelly O'Dwyer on Monday said the government was committed to creating the "right economic environment" for businesses to do well, invest in their companies and create new jobs.

"There are more people in jobs than ever before ... and more women in work than ever before," she said. "That is a great achievement for our government."

Delivering KPMG's outlook for 2019 on Monday, Ms Kitchen said Australia had a strong labour market and businesses were embracing change, particularly in digital technology. But fiscal tightening and geopolitical uncertainty may negatively affect Australia in the coming year, she said, "and so remaining confident and keeping connected with customers is most important".

"Trust will undoubtedly be a key issue again in 2019," she said.