Among a new round of promises, the budget will set up a national recovery and resilience agency, which will be given $600 million to fund projects such as bushfire and cyclone proofing houses, building levees and improving the resilience of telecommunications and essential supplies.

The government will also put $210 million towards a new Australian climate service that will bring together data from the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, ABS and Geoscience Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said regional communities understood natural disasters were part of the cycle which could impact their businesses, livelihoods and homes.

"These disasters we are seeing happen more frequently, that's why building our resilience is a key plank of our government's response to climate change," he told reporters in Townsville on Wednesday.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says the federal government is promising a lot in this budget but insists it will be the delivery that matters.

He pointed out the government put aside $4 billion a couple of years ago to fund emergency responses that included money for resilience.

"They haven't spent a dollar of that fund," he told the ABC on Wednesday.

"This is a government that is always about big announcements, never about delivery."

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced a sixth round of the Building Better Regions fund for shovel-ready infrastructure projects, worth $250 million.

Events, strategic regional plans and leadership projects are also eligible for the grants which range from $5000 to $1 million to cover at least 50 per cent of costs.

Mr McCormack confirmed the extra money during a pre-budget address to the Regional Australia Institute.

"It's a significant boost to regional Australia and will further accelerate regional recovery and deliver growth, community renewal, more jobs and new workforce skills, for the long term," he said.

Mr McCormack also announced $22.3 million for eight business cases for water infrastructure projects in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Tasmania.

More than $5.7 million will be injected into a post-pandemic rebuilding program for community organisations.

Separately, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher pledged $4.2 million to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to support the implementation and administration of the news media and digital platforms mandatory bargaining code.

"Digital platforms have fundamentally changed the way that media content is produced, distributed and consumed, which is why the Morrison government introduced this world-leading code, to support a diverse and sustainable Australian news media sector," Mr Fletcher said in statement.

Meanwhile, ABC chair Ita Buttrose does not expect the national broadcaster will suffer any funding cuts.

"The ABC has been assured our funding is guaranteed under the current triennium," she told the National Press Club.

"We're not expecting any surprises in the budget, but one can often be surprised."

Even though there is less than a week to go until Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hands down his third budget, there were still some last-minute pleas for funding.

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid says the lessons learnt from dealing with the pandemic must not be lost.

"We know areas of our health system are failing Australians, and we cannot continue the business as usual approach to funding," Dr Khorshid said.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry also hopes to see a strong focus on youth employment in the budget.

"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, young Australians have lost their jobs to a greater extent than other age groups," acting ACCI CEO Jenny Lambert says.

ACCI is calling on a continued focus on apprenticeships and a recalibrating of the JobMaker Hiring Credit.

Australian Associated Press